LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman visits Capitol Hill as the Saudi-backed league battles the PGA Tour

LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman volition beryllium visiting Capitol Hill this week to conscionable with members of Congress, arsenic the Saudi-backed league tangles with the PGA Tour.

The PGA Tour has been lobbying against LIV since 2021. LIV players person filed an antitrust suit against the PGA Tour. Meanwhile, the Justice Department has been probing the PGA Tour's imaginable anticompetitive behavior since July.

"LIV Golf is coming to the Hill this week to conscionable with lawmakers from some parties," LIV's main spokesperson, Jonathan Grella, told CNBC. "Given the PGA Tour's attempts to stifle our advancement successful reimagining the game, we deliberation it's imperative to amended members connected LIV's concern exemplary and antagonistic the Tour's anti-competitive efforts."

Norman is slated to conscionable with respective lawmakers. Reps. Nancy Mace, R-N.C., and Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., pb the informal legislature play caucus.

Representatives for the PGA Tour declined to remark connected the visit. Representatives for Mace and Panetta didn't instantly respond to a petition for comment.

The LIV Golf league was founded arsenic a rival to the PGA Tour and is financed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. LIV has already poached large golfers specified arsenic Phil Mickelson from the PGA Tour, and Norman himself is simply a erstwhile circuit star. The tour, successful turn, has barred LIV-affiliated players from participating successful its events.

LIV Golf has consistently called retired the PGA Tour's actions arsenic anti-competitive. The upstart league said that the PGA's suspension of LIV players was an "effort to stifle competition."

From the different side, critics person called retired the league's associations with the Saudi government, seeing it arsenic an effort astatine "sportswashing" to amended the nation's image. Critics person besides noted that the Saudi government's unthinkable wealthiness makes immoderate thought of existent contention a moot point. LIV has different almighty protagonist successful erstwhile President Donald Trump, whose Bedminster, New Jersey, state nine hosted a league lawsuit implicit the summer. His Doral people successful Miami volition clasp different LIV lawsuit astatine the extremity of October.

Since 2021, the PGA Tour has paid $360,000 to the steadfast DLA Piper to lobby lawmakers connected aggregate topics including "Saudi Golf League proposals." Several lawmakers – including Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. – person expressed interest astir LIV.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has taken a hard enactment against LIV.

"We invited good, steadfast competition. The LIV Saudi Golf League is not that. It's an irrational threat, 1 not acrophobic with the instrumentality connected concern oregon existent maturation of the game," Monahan told reporters earlier this year.

LIV Golf has besides been seeking a media deal, arsenic the league has been self-broadcasting its premiere play connected its website and connected YouTube. Recent reports said Apple and Amazon passed connected an a sum deal. The league's Chief Media Officer Will Staeger told CNBC that helium is "highly optimistic" it volition person a concern for its 2023 season. The PGA Tour has deals with CBS, ESPN and NBC.

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