US Senators Say PGA Tour-LIV Alliance Raises 'Red Flags,' Should Be Reviewed by USAG

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wrote a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter, asking them to look into whether the proposed merger between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour violates federal antitrust laws.

Mark Schlabach of ESPN obtained a copy of the letter, which states the proposed merger raises "red flags" that should be investigated.

The senators are also critical of the "Saudi government's efforts to 'sportswash' its egregious human rights record." Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund founded LIV Golf and would be the sole outside investor in the newly formed league, which includes the DP World Tour.

"The PGA-LIV deal would make a U.S. organization complicit—and force American golfers and their fans to join this complicity—in the Saudi regime's latest attempt to sanitize its abuses by pouring funds into major sports leagues," the letter stated.

The PGA Tour and LIV Golf were bitter rivals, both in the court of public opinion and in federal court, over the last two years. Last week's announced merger shocked the golf world, in large part because negotiations took place clandestinely—with even the sport's top stars left in the dark.

Details regarding the deal are still being announced, leaving golfers and fans unsure how the state of the sport will look under the merger. Warren and Wyden wrote the proposal would be a "clear violation" of the Clayton Act and the Sherman Antitrust Act, which seek to prevent monopolies in the United States.

"The PGA-LIV deal, as described in the June 6 announcement, would be a clear violation if it is a joint venture," Warren and Wyden wrote. "It would give the PGA Tour and PIF control over all significant aspects of U.S. commercial golf operations, including contracts with U.S. golfers and their opportunities to compete, television rights, cost of attendance to elite golf events, and merchandise."

It's likely the LIV-PGA side will argue there is nothing stopping a new golf league from forming. Sports leagues such as the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL have a virtual monopoly in the country given their size and scope, and the PGA Tour enjoyed a similar run of things before LIV took the golf world by storm.

While the senators make pertinent points regarding "sportswashing" given Saudi Arabia's human rights record, it's fair to wonder whether there will be any actual grounds for stopping the merger from a legal standpoint.