The Divide
For over a century, the golf landscape was on the same horizon. The best players in the world all played against each other many times every year.
However, this ecosystem was destroyed in 2022 when a rival golf league was formed by former professional Greg Norman and titled LIV Golf, using Roman numerals to represent the number of holes played in each tournament. Norman, who acts as CEO and commissioner of LIV, branded the PGA Tour as “anti-competitive“. LIV struggled to gain traction in the early days following its inception but soon gained some speed. It was rivalling the power of the PGA Tour, which had been at the epicentre of professional golf forever. The mission statement of this new golf league was to innovate how golf is played and watched in this modern era. Greg Norman and his associates said the golf world needed something new; it had been the same for too long. He wanted to “grow the game, give more opportunities to players, and create a more entertaining product for fans”.
Embed from Getty ImagesBetween that inflexion point and now, so much has changed in golf that it is almost impossible to remember what it used to be like. As an entity, LIV Golf is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which Yasir Al-Rumayyan heads. They put their income into the LIV stock market and used their endless money pit to attract some of the world’s best players. This was Saudi Arabia’s chance to insert themselves into golf. An opportunity to gain a foothold. But all it did was create a chasm between the PGA Tour and LIV – one that has not yet been filled in.
Big names leaving
Some early names to exit the stage door left from the PGA Tour enterprise were veteran and five-time major winner Phil Mickelson, who had referenced the ideal of a separate golf league for the past few years. Alongside him were European stalwarts Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Graeme McDowell. The first real big superstars of the sport to make the switch were Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka, who have won seven major championships. The pair saw an opportunity for something fresh. Playing less golf but getting paid an exorbitant amount seemed appealing. Northern Irishman Rory Mcilroy, who has been outwardly against LIV since its outset, said in 2022 that “any decision that you make in your life that’s purely for money usually doesn’t end up going the right way”.
Embed from Getty ImagesMore names followed, despite some of them previously refuting the idea of leaving the PGA Tour for LIV. Henrik Stenson was meant to be the Ryder Cup Captain for Europe in 2023. The most prestigious and historic team event in the history of golf, the Swede had the opportunity few ever do to lead the continent into battle against the US side. But in July of 2022, knowing the looming implications, he joined LIV and was thus stripped of his captaincy for the following year in Rome. He chose money over legacy.
Spaniard Jon Rahm, who won the US Open in 2021 and the Masters in 2023, actively spoke against a potential move to join LIV throughout last year. He mentioned that “the legacy you leave is very important. I do see the appeal that others see towards the LIV Golf“. But in December last year, he made an incredible U-turn, which shook the golfing world. The 29-year-old said, “There are a lot of things that LIV Golf have to offer which were very enticing, starting with team golf.” This drastic change in stance from one of the world’s biggest names in the last few years was puzzling. What had changed his mind? The reported $300 million multi-year contract he was offered might have been the deciding factor. But it was just an additional example of top players making the switch and weakening the PGA Tour. Norman and LIV knew that they had caught a big fish.
Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, both generational talents and household names in the game of golf, have been the mouthpieces defending the PGA Tour since the breakaway tour was constructed. So much so that McIlroy felt like the “sacrificial lamb“. He has recently taken more of a backseat amid the ongoing negotiations between PIF and the PGA Tour. Woods, who has only teed it up five times in 2024, posed that golf, as a whole, needs to “recognise the past and build a better future”.
There are some LIV golfers with whom you can somewhat empathise about their controversial decision. Either they are at the back end of their career; or have done all they need to do in the game. They can now enjoy an endless bank account and settle down at home more often as they near retirement. However, for the players at the heights of their careers, with so much still left to prove on the sport’s biggest of stages, a few did not make complete sense.
Most importantly, LIV golfers can now compete in all majors if they meet the required criteria. For the US Open this year, there were 12 LIV players on the field. Nine were exempt due to being past champions or finishing inside the top ten the previous year. But the other three, David Puig, Dean Burmester and Eugenio Chacarra, all went through qualifying to earn their spot. This is a byproduct of the defected players. Before, their routes into the majors would have been a lot easier. But now, to play in one of the sport’s four biggest annual competitions, they must qualify just like any other professional or amateur golfer. In this instance, despite their millions, they remain in the same boat as everyone else.
The majors are now the only time fans can see the world’s best players compete against one another. Imagine that in any other sport. For all except four weeks, the most talented golfers are not going head-to-head.
The Saudi Influence
The omnipresent issue surrounding the foundations of LIV was the source of the money. The players making the jump were being guaranteed hundreds of millions to play on an alternative circuit. But where was it all coming from? Saudi Arabia has faced many political and human rights criticisms from the Western World. They have an appalling history of human rights abuses, which have dainted its global image. To rectify this image, they have delved into the professional sporting sphere. Golf is not their first venture either; Saudi presence is present in football, boxing, and F1. From sponsorships to ownership, Saudi Arabia has infested these sports from the core.
But behind the facade, their human rights problems are still rife, and these sporting ventures can only do so much to try and hide their mistreatment of people in their country. Soft power is the term for this subtle mission to mix politics and sport. Saudi Arabia is utilising this modern form of power to orchestrate its will and instigate power. Are they genuinely interested in growing these sports as an entertainment product, or is it just another sports-washing saga?
Moving away from golf momentarily, Saudi Arabia recently hosted their first professional female boxing bout in Riyadh. When in the background, there is a constant backlash by Human Rights organisations about the treatment of women and minority groups. This dichotomy just punctuates the lure of money in professional sports. Everything else goes out the window if you are offered a large sum.
Embed from Getty ImagesSporting mega-events, such as the football World Cup or the Olympics, have become a key part of state strategies to achieve a multitude of foreign policy goals. A way of using sport for non-sporting aims has surpassed the legacy aspect of hosting a global sporting event. Soft power and sportswashing are two terms spearheading sport diplomacy in the 21st century. Saudi Arabia was recently announced as the host for the 2034 World Cup, another target reached in their sportswashing mission. But to what extent will they have to go to at least somewhat reduce their unfavourable human rights conceptions?
For the Saudi reputation to improve, they must win over the hearts and minds. Many feel like sports and politics should not be mixed, but in some cases, it is inseparable. Sport can be used for political motivations. This is quintessential of Saudi Arabia’s influence in some of the world’s biggest sports. Golf is just one part of Saudi Arabia’s diversifying portfolio. Alongside their presence in several of the world’s most popular sports, they also have their Saudi Vision 2030, “built around three primary themes: a vibrant society, a thriving economy and an ambitious nation”. Saudi Arabia is utilising soft power to its fullest extent, and it hopes that this will help it grow into a global superpower.
Or perhaps it is smart power, instead of soft power, an amalgamation of hard and soft, as coined by author Joseph Nye. Saudi Arabia is using soft power and is not initiating any military conduct. However, the mere possession of hard power attributes is another way for their soft power techniques to be successful.
How soft power came into fruition
A strong national brand and positive soft power perceptions allow a nation to promote itself as a place to be invested in and to build a reputation for the quality of goods and services. During the height of the Cold War, the Soviets recognised how sport provided a tremendous sense of identity to nations, unifying a population and strengthening the legitimacy of the state’s government. It was a view shared by the United States, among other nations, who were conscious of the powerful psychological nature of international sports in an arena of ideologies in front of a watching world.
The idea of using soft power to improve global image was employed by both the East and the West during the last 20th century as a potent weapon of propaganda. In some ways, Saudi Arabia is the modern enterprise of the Soviets during the Cold War, manipulating influence by using soft power techniques. Sport has unwavering power to influence political ordeals. The absence of direct military conflict during the nuclear era meant that soft power was birthed as an ideological and economic battle between the East and West. And we are still seeing soft power in full flight today.
Embed from Getty ImagesIn his book, Soft Power, Nye emphasises that soft power is “based on the ability to shape preferences and influence others by appealing to their values, ideals, and interests, rather than relying on military or economic force”. He alludes to the fact that soft power is not a sign of weakness but a form of strength deployed to shape or attract the preferences of others. Bringing this back to the Saudis’ recent golf infiltration by delving into the golf market, are they not just implementing a degree of soft power to influence others by appealing to their values and interests? No malicious intent is involved, but by using soft power, Saudi Arabia can continue to develop its influence in the sporting and political spheres.
‘Winning hearts and minds’
The benefit of using soft power is ‘winning hearts and minds’. As a concept, this expression aims to underline the use of emotion to appeal rather than the use of superior force. It was adopted during the Vietnam War as a strategy. In essence, it is an approach to governance that seeks to cooperate rather than coerce, which, through a broad lens, holds some analogous connotations to soft power in modern sports.
To decipher it further, ‘hearts means to persuade ‘the population that its interests are best served by cooperating’. ‘Minds’, on the other hand, is a process of confining the ‘people that coalition forces will win the conflict’. Winning hearts and minds can be extrapolated into a sporting context, in which winning over the hearts and minds of fans can be done by establishing connections between the sport, the athletes, and the communities or fanbases. Ostensibly, Saudi Arabia wants to win over sports fans ‘hearts and minds’ by using soft power to gain influence. Their economic advantage enables them to secure an initial foothold. They then use this to integrate their power by, in LIV’s case, creating a rival golf league and attracting some of the world’s best players by paying them hundreds of millions and proposing an innovative format.
The PGA-PIF merger
There was a shock announcement on June 6th last year, just over 12 months since LIV became the real deal. The PGA Tour and LIV revealed the ‘creation of a new entity that would combine their assets and radically change golf’s governance’. It was a shock to the entirety of the golfing world. The two opposing parties combine into one. It seemed that both Yasir Al-Rumayyan and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan realised that they would be better off working together than working against one another.
But the immediate issues stemmed from hypocrisy. Since its inception, the PGA Tour hierarchy had completely opposed LIV and the PIF, but now they wanted to merge. Monahan has received endless backlash but remains at the forefront of negotiations for the Tour. But is this not just a concession to the Saudis? They set out to use soft power and create this rival league to manifest its way into the sport of golf. They combine assets with the main golfing body, The PGA Tour. They have successfully infested the golfing waters and can now invest in the sport properly.
Embed from Getty ImagesOn June 6th, it all seemed so simple: the two would join forces, come back together, and be peaceful again. It is not that straightforward, and the issues arise further than the best golfers all playing together again. The two conflicting entities reuniting was much more complex than first thought. It has been nearly 18 months since the agreement, where Yasir and Monahan sat in the same room, revealing their new business plan to the world. Monahan exclaimed how he felt a “responsibility to put the PGA Tour in the strongest position every single day“. Yet still nothing has been agreed, months and months of negotiations between the two parties, but little to no signs of concrete progress.
Again, the problems span broader than the PGA Tour and the PIF. Because it is not just LIV Golf, it is PIF, it is Saudi Arabia – LIV is just their agent, their key into the lock, which is professional golf.
Settling on a deal
Speculations are ongoing, and golf fans await a definitive deal on the merger. However, recent reports have suggested that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will pay roughly $2 billion to become part of the PGA Tour and end the saga that has divided men’s professional golf. The civil war would be over; the golf world could unite again. However, the Department of Justice has also been investigating the deal LIV and PGA put forward last year, complicating matters further.
If the PIF were to carry out a $2 billion investment, then their mission would be complete. Whether behind the scenes or at the forefront, they would have weaved one of their sporting webs into professional golf. Another facet of their generational wealth is now involved in golf as yet another act of soft power. As mentioned, it is widely thought that sports and politics should not mix and should remain separate. But they have been intertwined for decades; it is impossible to keep the two apart. The upcoming US election could even impact the future of the PGA Tour and PIF deal.
The Future of Soft Power and Sports Washing
With no present drawbacks and no monetary limitations, where does the sports washing end? One can repeatedly look in the other direction, but when does the point arrive where something has to be done to uphold the integrity of sport and put the sanctity of life before an entertainment show?
LIV golf, the Saudi Grand Prix, Newcastle United’s ownership, and Heavyweight Boxing fights are all just a smokescreen for a kingdom that has continuously abused human rights.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe creation of LIV transformed the professional golf landscape in a way no one saw coming. Even if the game’s best reunite, will golf ever be the same again? Or has it been eternally tarnished by yet another terminal case of sports washing through the use of soft power to win over ‘hearts and minds’?