A private Worcester County golf club will host a major golf tournament in September for the controversial new professional tour with ties to the new Saudi Arabian government.
The International, a private golf club in Bolton, will be the site of the fourth installment of the LIV Golf Invitational series, which will be held Sept. 2-4, according to a report from Boston-based radio station WGBH. The tournament, led by retired professional golfer Greg Norman, is positioned as an alternative to the PGA Tour. It kicks off in London this month, followed by stops in Portland, Ore., and at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. before coming to The International.
Committed golfers include major names like Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, according to the Washington Post.
Representatives for The International and its parent company, Escalane Golf LLC of Texas, did not respond to requests for interviews from the Worcester Business Journal, but according to WGBH and the Washington Post, LIV Golf Investments’ majority shareholder is Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
The fund is chaired by Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia who has been accused of multiple human rights violations, including, according to a report released last year from the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, he approved the operation in Turkey that led to the 2018 capture and killing of Washington Post writer Jamal Khashoggi.
