Saudi-backed tournament creates hazard for professional golf

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• John Yang:

  Finally, tonight, the intersection of sports and geopolitics. Today, was the final round of the first ever live golf series in London. The new competition is backed by the Saudi government and its leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi Arabia's human rights record has been criticized over a number of issues, including the war in Yemen, the treatment of LGBTQ people and the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Now, Khashoggi's fiancee is weighing in, saying the participating golfers should be banned from major tournaments.

  USA Today, Sports Columnist Christine Brennan is here to talk about this. Christine, thanks for being with us. First, just the basics. What is this new tournament and why is it so controversial?

• Christine Brennan, USA Today:

  John, what's happened is a man named Greg Norman major champion winner from the past has been working for quite a while with Saudi leaders and certainly the Saudi money to come up with an alternative golf series to the PGA Tour. Now, this, by no means is that competitive in terms of the actual number of good players, it is much smaller. It's only 54 holes in normal golf tournaments, 72 holes, but it's all about the money. And what has happened over the last few weeks 17 PGA Tour players have now been suspended by the PGA Tour, because they have decided to go and play in the live golf series. It started in London, as you mentioned, ending today. And there will be tournaments around the United States. So there's several others. It's almost an exhibition, certainly not necessarily leading to anything and they've got team competition. It's different than what we're used to with the PGA or the LPGA Tour. But it — with all that Saudi money, they are making quite a splash. And the controversy as you described because of the connection with the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, among many other transgressions and terrible things that they have done is gaining all of the attention that these golfers, many of them Americans, putting Phil Mickelson and others have now decided to be in business with the Saudi.

• John Yang:

  Is money, the main motivation here?

• Christine Brennan:

  Oh, yeah, absolutely. Certainly not the quality of competition, because they're leaving the great competition, John, they're leaving the PGA Tour. They're leaving the best players in the world and going off on their own. It's almost like retirement. So they go and they play. And there's no consequences if you play poorly, and they're also getting so much money up front. I mean, I'm sure people have seen, you know, potentially hundreds of millions of dollars as advance money. So the prize money almost doesn't matter, even though that's huge as well. And that is certainly one of the reasons for the sports criticism of this as being nothing more than an exhibition.

• John Yang:

  As you said the PGA suspended the players who participated in this, what does this mean for golf moving forward? And I mean, they don't — the PGA doesn't set the field for next week's U.S. Open. But what are the implications for golf moving forward?

• Christine Brennan:

  This is a crisis for men's golf, John, it is really a broadside because of the money that the Saudis have. And then because of the controversy that's inherent with taking Saudi money, and so you've got one of the biggest names in the history of the sport, Phil Mickelson, who was decided to leave the PGA Tour and go off and do this. Golf doesn't need this civil war. And yet now, it has come upon them. It is now something they have to deal with.

  And yes, the U.S. Open, which is in Boston next week, they're going to allow the Saudi players to come back and play in that because they'd already qualified. The question on the table is a British Open in a month, and the Masters is next April, will they also allow these men who are taking Saudi money to come and play in their tournaments? Because if they do, then the Saudis guys could say, hey, I can go make all this money and I could still come back and play the Foreman's majors. This is a big problem for golf structure. frankly the chickens have come home to roost, John, because all of these years of golf being so incredibly missing and deficient and leadership on cultural issues, especially discrimination against men and — black men and women. Now, the fact that they have seemed to have no spine and seemed to have no leadership that can really, really clamp down on these kinds of things. Now, they have to deal with something that they really had they've never had to deal with before.

• John Yang:

  And beyond golf, you refer to this as sports washing Saudi Arabia's reputation. What are these players say when they're asked about Saudi — the Saudi human rights record? Much less alone the killing of the Washington Post columnist?

• Christine Brennan:

  Yes. Well, there are talking points that have been revealed that they are told what to say when they're asked these questions inevitably, by the journalists, wherever in London or wherever, certainly that I'll see them at the U.S. Open and be willing to ask these tough questions as well. And, you know, Phil Mickelson talks a good game. He says, of course, the killing of Jamal Khashoggi was — is reprehensible. And then he goes right into, but we're going to help grow the game. Oh, that's ridiculous. They're going to help grow, you know, Phil's bank account. Grow the game, it's again — that's really the sports washing. Obviously, I'm a columnist and giving my opinion. But there's no doubt that this idea that they're going to try to do good things, it's all about trying to help the Saudis here.

• John Yang:

  And the families of the victims of 911 are now speaking out?

• Christine Brennan:

  They are, yes. Reporting today about that, in the New York Post, that they have sent a scathing letter to Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson and the others, basically, how dare you, how dare you take this money? How dare you be a part of anything that, of course, that was part of the, you know, terrible tragedy of Saudis, of course, leading the way in the attack on 911.

  And I'm sure there are people out there doing the same, but doesn't Saudi Arabia have like they had a tournament recently and LPGA, they play there. A tournament is one thing, one week. This is Phil Mickelson going into business with the Saudis. This is all about being part of the MBS brand. And the Saudi government and the Saudi investment defined as it's called. It's much more than just playing somewhere where they put the tournament that week. This is a choice that Phil Mickelson has made to go into business with these people.

• John Yang:

  Christine Brennan of USA Today, thank you very much.

• Christine Brennan:

  John, thank you.