PGA Tour-LIV merger Senate Hearing: Live updates from this morning’s hearing

On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate will hold a hearing on the proposed deal between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which runs LIV Golf. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET. Follow along below for live updates from the hearing in Washington D.C.

The hearing is entitled “The PGA-LIV Deal: Implications for the Future of Golf and Saudi Arabia’s Influence in the United States.” Senators are expected to question some of the major players in the deal, though PGA Tour CEO Jay Monahan, PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan and LIV CEO Greg Norman will not be in attendance.

Leading the hearing will be Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the subcommittee’s chairman, and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), the subcommittee’s ranking member. As Blumenthal detailed in a June 21 letter to Monahan, the intent of the session is to “examine the planned agreement … the future of the PIF-funded LIV Golf, the risks associated with a foreign government’s investment in American cultural institutions, and the implications of this planned agreement on professional golf in the United States going forward.”

LIVE UPDATES FROM PGA TOUR-LIV SENATE HEARING

10:10 a.m. ET: Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) opens the proceedings with an introductory speech, noting that the PGA Tour is a “cherished American institution” and that the purpose of the hearing is to probe how the involvement of Saudi Arabia, whose government he called a “repressive regime,” will affect the Tour and game of golf in the future.

9:50 a.m. ET: GOLF.com Executive Editor Alan Bastable is in attendance in D.C. He reports that the hearing was “originally scheduled for smaller room but due to interest was moved to bigger space: Hart 216, same room where Supreme Court confirm hearings are conducted.”