Trump courses to host three Saudi-backed LIV Golf tournaments
youhe Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour will host three of its tournaments at courses owned by former President Donald Trump, according to the group’s full schedule released on Monday.
The golf league will host a 14-stop season in 2023, with three of its tournaments being held at Trump courses in Florida, New Jersey, and Virginia. The season will begin in late February in Mexico at the El Camaleon course and end in Saudi Arabia in November.
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The updated schedule shows a strengthened relationship between the Saudi-backed group and Trump as the former president seeks a return to the White House in 2024. LIV has attracted widespread scrutiny in recent years as critics argue the golf league is being used as a distraction to repair Saudi Arabia’s reputation amid allegations of human rights abuses.
Trump previously hosted two LIV Golf events at his courses in 2022, defending the league as “good people with unlimited money.”
“We have human rights issues in this country, too,” Trump told the New York Times in October. “We have human rights issues here as much as anybody.”
LIV has grown more mainstream as the league has successfully lured away PGA players to participate in tournaments. The Saudi-backed group has attempted to market itself by hosting tournaments on elite courses that can still challenge the world’s top players.
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Trump’s partnership with the league also comes as the PGA Tour has attempted to break away from the former president in recent years. PGA ended its connection to one of Trump’s clubs near Miami in 2016 and later canceled plans to host the 2022 PGA Championship Tour at a Trump property in New Jersey.
LIV Golf was founded in 2021 and is funded by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund as an alternative to the PGA Tour. Several top players have joined the league since its inception, including Phil Mickelson, Cameron Smith, and Dustin Johnson.