LIV Golf could be banned from holding events in New Jersey after a new bill introduced by two American senators.
The legislation would prevent the Saudi-backed tour from having tournaments in the US state due to the source of the funding behind the divisive venture. And the saga is set to provide another explosive twist in golf's civil war.
The last LIV event in Bedminster, which was won by sacked European Ryder Cup captain Henrik Stenson, was marred by protests from families of 9/11 victims. Overall, 750 people killed in the attacks in 2001 came from New Jersey, with FBI reports linking Saudi figures to the murders
Regardless, Greg Norman has continued his aggressive attack on the PGA Tour, with Open champion Cameron Smith on the brink of a big-money defection. And ahead of the second FedEX playoff event in Wilmington this week, Tiger Woods has flown in to meet PGA Tour stars as they seek to counter Norman and co.
This month, three rebel players, Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford and Matt Jones, lost their legal battle to overturn their PGA ban and compete in the St Jude Championship. In a damning verdict, a court judge accused the trio of hypocrisy in their attempt to benefit from two different organisations.
And now a bill introduced by two Democratic state lawmakers could deal LIV Golf a further blow. According to a report by bloomberg.com the legislation, sponsored by Senators Andrew Zwicker and Richard Codey, would prohibit contests by all sports organisations "operated primarily through use of monies received from sovereign wealth funds."
The senators raised Saudi Arabia’s treatment of women and dissidents, and also cited the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in October 2018 after criticising his country's hierarchy. Norman, 67, has previously offered a bizarre analysis of the fatal incident, arguing that "everyone makes mistakes."
“No one would have believed that after that terrible day that we would be allowing foreign governments to hold events in New Jersey in an attempt to clean up their image after centuries of human-rights abuses and connections to terrorists,” Codey said, in a released statement.
Zwicker added: "Yet we do not need further recognition or notoriety from hosting competitions that are bankrolled by repressive governments or unsavoury actors like Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman."
LIV Golf are yet to respond to the development, with the fourth rebel event set to take place in Boston from September 2-4. Further 2022 tournaments will be held in Chicago, Bangkok, Jeddah, and Miami.
Thus far, those to have signed up have still been permitted to compete in major championships. However, a potential boycott of golf's major events is reportedly being discussed by Woods and co this week.
Next year's Ryder Cup in Rome already appears in jeopardy with a number of high-profile figures on both teams having ruled themselves out. Luke Donald has replaced Stenson as the leader of Team Europe.
