Her husband, Tom, died when a hijacked plane flew into the World Trade Center. Terry Strada, the national chairperson of 9/11 Families United, has sent a letter to representatives of LIV Golf stars calling on them to reconsider their participation in the series. All but four of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi citizens, and the Saudi kingdom was the birthplace of Osama bin Laden, the head of al-Qaida and mastermind of the attack. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of PIF, said on stage that there would be a prize of $54 million for any player who could hit an implausible 54 at a LIV event.įor many in the United States, Saudi Arabia will forever be associated with the collapse of the World Trade Towers and the deaths of nearly 3,000 people on Sept. LIV Golf plays up the financial largesse. LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman, who would not speak to the media at the event, called the series a "force for good" in a speech at the victory ceremony, without addressing criticism of the Saudi project. Saudi Arabia's track record of human rights violations has sparked criticism from groups, including Amnesty International, that the country is "sportswashing" its image by investing in signing up sports stars. He made no mention on the LIV live broadcast about the riches on offer. Pat Perez, the 46-year-old American who is ranked 168th in the world, also joined the breakaway on Saturday, saying he wants to travel less after 21 years on the PGA Tour. Reed said he would make his debut on the second stop of the LIV Golf series in Portland, Oregon, on June 30-July 2. Having appeared at three Ryder Cups, where he has been one of the brashest characters on the American team, Reed's decision could see him ineligible for selection in the future. The 31-year-old American's only major win was the 2018 Masters. Reed, who has won almost $37 million in a decade on the PGA Tour, is ranked 36th. However, the lucrative rewards for joining the Public Investment Fund-backed series have not been enough to entice any players ranked in the world's top 10. Twenty players have now defected from the PGA Tour, with Patrick Reed the latest former Masters champion confirmed on Saturday as signing up to LIV Golf as the final round was being completed. WATCH l Saudi-funded golf league poaches top talent from PGA tour:ĭuration 2:05 The LIV Golf league funded by the Saudi government is poaching some of the world's top golfers, including Dustin Johnson, to leave the PGA Tour. The European tour has yet to comment on any sanctions for players who jumped to the series without its approval. It is the first of eight events in the first year of LIV Golf, which began against the backdrop of the PGA Tour banning players who signed up. Schwartzel entered the final day with a three-shot lead and did just enough to hold off Du Plessis despite finishing with a 2-over 72 for a 7-under total of 203. PGA Tour says players teeing off in rival Saudi-funded league no longer eligible for its eventsįellow South African Hennie Du Plessis, who was selected for Stinger by team captain Louis Oosthuizen in the draft, earned $2.875 million by finishing second at Centurion Club, located between Hemel Hempstead and St.DeChambeau officially joins Saudi-backed golf series."I think if I start digging everywhere where we played, you could find fault in anything." that I've ever looked at playing in my 20 years career," the South African said. "Where the money comes from is not something. Pressed in the news conference, he dismissed criticism of the windfall coming from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think we could play for that much money in golf," Schwartzel, who had not won a PGA or European tour event since 2016, told the crowd. It came at a cost, though, having resigned his membership of the PGA Tour to play on the unsanctioned series without a waiver. Schwartzel, the 2011 winner at Augusta National, collected more prize money from winning the three-day, 54-hole event than he had from the last four years combined. Schwartzel held on for a one-shot victory at the inaugural LIV Golf event outside London to secure the $4 million prize for the individual victory - along with another $750,000 from his share of the $3 million purse earned by his four-man Stinger team for topping the team rankings. Former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel banked $4.75 million US on Saturday by winning the richest tournament in golf history, while the event's Saudi backers faced renewed backlash after a 9/11 victims' group called for American players to withdraw from the rebel series.
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