Page 12 - Golf Champion - June 2022

[FROM THE PUBLISHER]

The power of Saudi money, and the Pros are Joining

사우디 돈의 위력 앞에 하나, 둘 쓰러지는 프로 선수들

Publisher Kyu Yang
발행인 양규철
he LIV Golf Invitational, which shook the golf of the LIV golf series is 'sports washing'.
Tindustry, finished the second tournament with The interpretation is that only the Saudi royal family
the record of being the biggest money prize in and Bin Salman are hosting and sponsoring
golf history. South African Charl Schwartzel, large-scale non-political sports events to wash
who won the opening match with 7-under away the image deteriorated by dictatorship,
par, added $4 million in the individual media oppression, and human rights
prize money and $750,000 in the team violations. In recent years, huge oil capital
event as well. The tournament's total prize has been poured into mega-sports events
pool was $25 million, $5 million more than to improve the image of the international
the $20 million at the Players Championship, community, which has deteriorated due to the
the highest-paid player on the PGA Tour. Dustin murder of journalists and the Yemeni civil war
Johnson, who is ranked No. 1 in the world, received plan, etc., to mark the pinnacle of sports washing.
over 100 million dollars to join the LIV series and became Players who transferred to LIV use the time with
the headline even before the competition. their families and themselves. It is said that they can
Looking at the players who have joined here, the one of earn enough money even in less competitions. In the
the best players such as Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, meantime, the PGA Tour has only 2 weeks out of 52 weeks
Brook Koepka, Martin Kaymer, Sergio Garcia, and Kevin a year without a tournament.
Na are joining. PIF, the fund of this event, is Saudi Only players with great results and earning money can
Arabia's huge capital that operates a fund worth about choose to participate in competitions, and there is no
600 trillion won based on oil capital. The head of the problem with their own personal life, but it is tough and
fund's management is Saudi Crown Prince Bin Salman. discriminates for more than half of the players who are
PIF bought the Newcastle United club in the English in a position to lose their cards.
Premier League in October last year. The purchase price For the players who have been oppressed by their scores
of Newcastle was about £305 million, a tiny fraction of and prize money, and have had little time to reunite with
the fund. Then with the assets of Saudi Aramco added, their families, it was a good opportunity to take.
the state-owned oil company with a market capitalization I think that the number of players who have not yet
of over $2 trillion, Crown Prince Bin Salman is the richest decided to transfer due to the PGA Tour and public
man in the world. opinion will start to increase.
Bin Salman, who is also the first Deputy Prime Minister Of course, as many great players rush to transfer to the
of Saudi Arabia and Minister of Defense, was born in 1985 LIV Golf, the ransom of the players who decided late will
and is not yet forty years old. He is called ‘Mr. everything’ inevitably fall, so it is expected that there will be many
in Saudi Arabia. He is a powerful person in charge of changes in the next one or two months.
Saudi Arabia's economy and diplomacy on behalf of his LIV Golf, which can shake the foundation of professional
father, who is 86 years old. Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist golf, has many differentiations.
and columnist for the Washington Post in the United Tournaments are held in a 54-hole match from Thursday
States, was killed in October 2018 at the Saudi consulate to Saturday and will be awarded separately for each
in Istanbul, Turkey. The CIA has investigated the player's individual performance and team performance.
involvement of Crown Prince Bin Salman in the murder In addition, since all participating players can receive a
of Jamal Khashoggi, who wrote anti-Saudi royal articles prize money without getting cut, the pressure on having
and columns. Against this dark shadowy background of to get low score is reduced than in other competitions,
LIV Golf, a different perspective exists. The interpretation and the fans also view as participating in a festival rather

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