Survivors of the 9/11 disaster have slammed Phil Mickelson and others who chose to compete in the LIV golf series. The eight-series tournament worth £200million aims for a quicker, more attractive version of the game - like T20 cricket - to appeal to a younger, wider audience.
The competition is bankrolled by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is furthering its western sports investments after purchasing Newcastle United last year. Those involved are set to play in all eight events of the series and each event will feature a $25m (£20m) prize purse.
The breakaway circuit has received plenty of backlash and now the event's American players are the subject of a strongly-worded letter from 911familiesunited.org, a coalition of families and survivors of the 2001 terrorist attacks. The message expressed their outrage toward the golfers for participating in the new league and accused them of sportswashing and betraying the US.
“As a freedom-loving American, I am grateful to have the freedom of choice where I work and who I work for, and I respect your right as well,” wrote Terry Strada, the organisation’s national chair and a mother of three whose husband, Tom, was on the 104th floor of the north tower of the World Trade Center during the horrific attacks.
"As a 9/11 widow, I feel compelled to help you understand the level of depravity the Kingdom engaged in when it knowingly sent government agents here to establish the support network needed for those hijackers," they continued. "As you may know, Osama bin Laden and 15 of the 19 September 11 hijackers were Saudis. It was the Saudis who cultivated and spread the evil, hate-filled Islamist ideology that inspired the violent jihadists to carry out the deadly 9/11 attacks. And, most egregiously, it is the Kingdom that has spent 20 years in denial: lying about their activities, and cowardly dodging the responsibility they bear. Yet these are your partners, and much to our disappointment, you appear pleased to be in business with them.
“Given Saudi Arabia’s role in the death of our loved ones and those injured on 9/11—your fellow Americans—we are angered that you are so willing to help the Saudis cover up this history in their request for ‘respectability.’ When you partner with the Saudis, you become complicit with their whitewash, and help give them the reputational cover they so desperately crave—and are willing to pay handsomely to manufacture.
“The Saudis do not care about the deep-rooted sportsmanship of golf or its origins as a gentleman’s game built upon core values of mutual respect and personal integrity. They care about using professional golf to whitewash their reputation, and they are paying you to help them do it.” One of those most outraged by the LIV series is PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, who sent a stern email of his own to the rebel players, 30 minutes after the first LIV Golf Series event got underway at the Centurion Club.
Monahan said the players "decided to turn their backs on the PGA Tour by willfully violating a regulation" to play in the LIV Golf Series. "The players are being notified that they are suspended or otherwise no longer eligible to participate in the PGA Tour tournament play, including the Presidents Cup," he continued.
"As you know, players listed below did not receive the necessary conflicting event and media rights releases - or did not apply for releases at all - and their participation in the Saudi Golf League / LIV Golf Event is in violation of our Tournament Regulations. This same fate holds true for any other players who participate in future Saudi Golf League events. These players have made their choice for their own financial-based reasons.
“But they can't demand the same PGA Tour membership benefits, considerations, opportunities and platform as you. That expectation disrespects you, our fans and our partners. You have made a different choice, which is to abide by tournament regulations you agreed to when you accomplished the dream of earning a PGA Tour card and - more importantly - to compete as part of the preeminent organisations in the world of professional golf."
Charl Schwartzel made history by becoming the first player to win an LIV golf event on Saturday. The South African had taken a three-shot lead into the final day of the inaugural event and eventually coasted to victory by one shot over Hennie du Plessis. Schwartzel collected a winner’s cheque worth an astonishing £3.2m for his first professional victory in over six years. He will have more competition in the future events however, as Patrick Reed and Bryson DeChambeau have agreed to join the circuit.
