Former U.S. president Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Robstown, Texas, U.S., October 22, 2022.
Go Nakamura | Reuters
Donald Trump on Thursday again praised Saudi-backed golf venture LIV, which is in the middle of a political and legal battle with the PGA Tour and other American golf interests.
The former president’s Doral club in South Florida is hosting LIV events this week.
“It’s big time and it’s big-time money. It’s unlimited money. They love golf and the Saudis have done a fantastic job,” Trump said following a pro-am round, according to Golf Channel. “It’s different, the enthusiasm.” He also criticized the PGA Tour.
The former president has hosted PGA Tour tournaments in the past, but the Tour pulled its event from his Trump National Doral Miami course in 2017 and pulled the 2022 PGA Championship from Trump Bedminster in New Jersey following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Now, LIV Golf, backed by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment fund, has taken to Trump properties. The deep-pocketed league hosted a tournament at Trump Bedminster in July, despite condemnation from the families of 9/11 victims, and it will host its championship at Trump National Doral Miami starting Friday.
Trump’s connection with Saudi Arabia goes beyond his admiration and business relationship with LIV Golf. As president, he said the U.S. stood with the Kingdom despite the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was a critic of the Saudi royal family.
Meanwhile, Golfweek reported that LIV Golf was leaning on Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law whose investment firm landed hundreds of millions of dollars in Saudi money, to arrange a media deal with Fox Sports through Kushner’s friend Lachlan Murdoch, who runs Fox Corp. alongside his father, Rupert. LIV has said reports about its quest for media rights deals “have been incomplete and inaccurate.”
LIV Golf has been fighting to compete with the PGA Tour, even without a media deal. Massive contracts lured star players like Phil Mickelson, while the tour has tried to respond with its own increased bonuses. The former president said that more players will defect to LIV.
“A lot of other people are coming over. Big names, they’re coming over. The star system is very important in sports. If you don’t have the star system, you’re not going to be successful,” said Trump, who is considering another run for president while facing down a Justice Department criminal investigation over top secret documents he took to his Mar-a-Lago home in South Florida.
The two leagues have traded lawsuits and launched lobbying efforts against each other. Most recently, a Justice Department antitrust probe expanded its scope from the PGA Tour to Augusta National and the USGA, which oversee the Masters and U.S. Open major tournaments, respectively.
But the Trump said he thinks the PGA Tour and LIV could work something out, but blamed the tour for not working toward a solution.
“Something could have been worked out so easily,” Trump said, “but the Tour decided to, as Richard Nixon said, stonewall it.”
Representatives for the PGA Tour and LIV Golf didn’t immediately return requests for comment.
