More attention has been directed to this golf weekend – Feb. 3-6 – than perhaps any other in history. Only this time, the conversation involves phrases rarely if ever applied to the game and has raised concerns about its future.
The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am plays on three of the Monterey Peninsula’s storied courses, featuring a strong field that includes 13 of the world’s top 50 golfers. A hemisphere away, the Saudi International also got underway. Among that event’s groupings are 20 of the sport’s ranked elite.
In addition to the usual anticipation, however, expressions like “human rights violations” and “murder” – as well as fears the comfortable world of professional golf as we know it might be on the verge of collapse – have been part of the coverage vernacular.
“It’s a tricky one,” Rory McIlroy told reporters at a press conference on Jan. 26 before the Slynci.io Dubai Desert Classic. “There’s a lot of gray areas.”
Some might dispute the amount of gray involved. But the essentials are pretty clear.
LIV Golf Investments partnered with the Asian Tour as a sponsor for 10 events this calendar year, reportedly adding $200 million to that tour’s coffers. LIV’s funding comes largely from the Public Investment Fund, the Saudi regime’s financial service. Investment in the Asian Tour is suspected to be part of an effort to create a rival tour to the PGA, a Super Golf League the regime would stock with golf’s biggest names.
To boost the stature of this weekend’s Saudi International, at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in scenic King Abdullah Economic City, the Saudi government paid dozens of golf stars to take part. Multiple sources peg the number paid to play at 46 golfers from the PGA and DP World Tour, with the lowest fee said to be $400,000.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan grudgingly granted conflicting event releases to the tour professionals lured to Saudi Arabia, with conditions attached concerning future Pebble Beach Pro-Ams. He is not so generous when it comes to a future Super Golf League. Should that come to fruition, Monahan has promised a lifetime ban from PGA play for any golfer who makes the jump.
Unlike many professional sports, golfers are not part of a team. They act as independent contractors, taking on the jobs they want or need. Golfers must earn a place on the tour and poor play can knock them from the list. Miss a cut and there’s no paycheck at the end of the week.
In general, tour professionals are subject to a 15-tournament minimum each season before they are allowed to request a waiver to play at a conflicting event.
“I’ve always thought that rival golf tours are just going to make the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour better,” McIlroy told reporters in Dubai. “I don’t think that’s a problem. But one thing I do worry about is if we restrict or punish guys for going to Saudi.”
His concern is resentment from players and the potential for conflict between tours. The punishment for those who chose Saudi Arabia this weekend is hardly draconian. Golfers who took part in the Pro-Am at least once in the last five years must return to Pebble Beach at least once in the next two years. Those who rarely participate in the Pro-Am will need to play Pebble twice in the next three years.
Daniel Berger, who won the 2021 Pro-Am and returns to defend his title, believes Monahan’s stipulation will benefit future events. Some golfers who regularly skip the Pro-Am will be forced to take part, making the field even stronger.
“It’s going to be great for this tournament,” Berger says, adding that he was uninterested in the Saudi event and there wasn’t much communication between them. “I love this golf tournament.”
The requirement is also a recognition that popular tournaments like the Pro-Am depend upon a field dotted with the world’s best in order to draw crowds. Although ticket sales for this year’s Pro-Am have reportedly been strong, a longer-term exodus of top drawing cards could potentially weaken attendance, advertising sales, television audiences and celebrity participation. The ripple effect would cause local harm, as the tournament is the main annual fundraiser for the Monterey Peninsula Foundation (seestory, p. 16).
But this is not of immediate concern to many who have been vocal on the matter. Rather, it’s the litany of crimes and human rights abuses associated with the regime headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, including the 375,000 who have died as a result of the conflict in Yemen – Saudi Arabia is supporting the government coalition against Houthi rebels, with malnutrition, disease and poverty the only result – and the murder and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the regime.
Golfweek writer Eamon Lynch has been particularly blistering in his disdain for those who tee up in Saudi Arabia, referring to the event as the “Bonesaw Invitational.”
Over the past few weeks in press conferences, those traveling to Saudi have brushed such questions aside with a chorus of “I’m not a politician.” Before the QBE Shootout in Florida in December, Bubba Watson explained his participation as an effort to expand the appeal of the game.
“Saudi Arabia, they’re trying to change,” he said. “They started with women’s golf.”
Lynch wrote, “players will sing the same libretto – ‘We’re not politicians! We’re just doing our job!’ – but it’s a bogus deflection. This is an instance where just doing their job is a political act.”
But McIlroy, who is not taking part in either tournament this weekend and opposes the idea of a Super Golf League, says the issue is not clear cut.
“Look at so many of the companies whose products we use,” he told reporters. “Take Uber – they are funded by PIF [Public Investment Fund]. It’s hard to go anywhere and not have something or someone involved that people won’t agree with.”