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The controversial Saudi-back LIV Golf league is moving its marquee championship from Saudi Arabia to former President Donald Trump's Trump Doral National Golf Club in Miami.
The decision means that for the second straight year, LIV's golf championship will be held at Trump's Doral course. It will also mark the fifth time the upstart tour has hosted a tournament on a Trump-owned property. LIV's announcement also comes as the tour plows ahead on its merger with the PGA. It remains uncertain what the future holds for LIV, but it is possible that the Doral tournament could be the last event it will hold.
Trump has repeatedly made it clear that he strongly supports LIV and its Saudi benefactors. The former president was ostracized by top-level professional golf following the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. LIV's creation allowed for top tournaments to return to his courses with some of golf's biggest names. Before their merger, LIV and the PGA were in fierce competition to retain some of the sport's most successful golfers.
"It's big time and it's big-time money. It's unlimited money. They love golf and the Saudis have done a fantastic job," Trump said following a pro-am round before LIV's 2022 championship, according to Golf Channel.
According to ESPN, LIV will now play its last regular season tournament in Jeddah in lieu of holding the championship there.
News of the merger sparked a torrent of criticism on Capitol Hill, especially among Democrats. Saudi Arabia's public wealth fund reportedly spent $2 billion to create LIV at a time when the kingdom faced fierce criticism over the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and its broader human rights record. US intelligence concluded that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the future leader of Saudi Arabia, ordered Khashoggi's murder.
PGA officials will testify to senators later this week about the merger. The deal still needs to be approved by the PGA's policy board. In a sign that all is not well at the PGA over the proposed merger, former AT&T executive Randall Stephenson resigned over the weekend from the board over his opposition to the deal.
LIV's future schedule remains uncertain. Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy, one of the PGA's loudest critics, previously said that he expected LIV to "go away" after the merger was announced. While Dustin Johnson, a former No. 1 golf and one of LIV's biggest recruits, later told ESPN that the league would carry on next year.
"Everything I've heard, they're still working on a full schedule for next year," Johnson told ESPN in June. "The rest of this year and 2024 is going to be the same as far as I know. After that, you know as much as I do.
