Former President Donald Trump weighed in on LIV Golf. Here’s what he said
Former President Donald Trump offered his opinion on the ongoing rivalry between the PGA Tour and LIV golf via his social media site, Truth Social, according to various reports.
“All of those golfers that remain ‘loyal’ to the very disloyal PGA, in all of its different forms, will pay a big price when the inevitable MERGER with LIV comes, and you get nothing but a big ‘thank you’ from PGA officials who are making Millions of Dollars a year,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, according to CNN. “If you don’t take the money now, you will get nothing after the merger takes place, and only say how smart the original signees were.”
On Sunday, families of 9/11 victims from the group, 9/11 Justice, sent a letter to Trump urging him to meet with them and cancel the upcoming LIV Golf event scheduled for his course in Bedminster, New Jersey, at the end of the month.
Critics of the LIV Golf tour have pointed to the financiers of it, Saudi Arabia, as having a poor human rights record and for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The CIA reportedly linked Khashoggi’s murder to Saudi Arabia.
Defectors of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour have faced allegations of “sportswashing” in joining LIV Golf.
The 9/11 Justice group criticized Saudi Arabia for their alleged role in the Sept. 11 attacks, and the letter that was emailed to one of Trump’s aides Sunday mentioned the former president saying on FOX News in 2016 that Saudi Arabia was a responsible party in the terrorist attack in 2001.
Australian Cam Smith won the British Open on Sunday and did not answer directly about the rumor that he was joining the LIV Golf tour. Some high-profile golf names to previously join are former major champions Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka.
Henrik Stenson, who won the 2016 British Open, reportedly is joining the LIV Golf tour, which would result in him being stripped of his captaincy of Europe at the Ryder Cup scheduled for 2023.
The LIV series is in its inaugural year with eight tournaments, the final one coming to Miami at Trump National Doral.
This story was originally published July 19, 2022 at 11:27 AM.
