Sir, – I would like to condemn the European Tour PGA for playing in Saudi Arabia this week. It is extremely disappointing that this elite group of golfers would chose to play in a country whose human rights record and treatment of women is highly questionable. The tour’s presence there serves only to condone the country’s practices to a worldwide TV audience and is a hugely disappointing decision. And to those who say “What about the tour playing in China?”, I would remind them that two wrongs do not make a right. – Yours, etc, FRANK CLOHOSEY,<doc-sep>Pro golfers faced backlash throughout the weekend for their decision to participate in the Saudi International golf tournament, the European Tour’s first event in Saudi Arabia, as players sought to downplay any connection between their attendance and the country’s politics. The killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and Saudi Arabia’s human rights record cast a pall over the event, which attracted the top three ranked players in the world: Justin Rose, who is British, and Americans Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson Dustin (Dusty) JohnsonTiger's crash trumps the news cycle, but is his career over? PGA star Phil Mickelson donates 0K to HBCU ahead of The Match Masters ratings plunge to lowest in decades MORE. Participants drew additional scrutiny as many accepted lucrative paydays to take part in the event, ESPN reported. After the European Tour shared a photo on Twitter on Sunday morning of a joyous Johnson holding up a trophy after winning the Saudi International tournament, one user replied “I thought the trophy would be a golden bone saw,” a reference to the alleged use of the tool to dismember Khashoggi’s body. ADVERTISEMENT “When is the LPGA event coming to Saudi Arabia? Oh wait….” another user replied, alluding to the kingdom’s restrictive laws toward women. ESPN reported that the Saudi International was paid for by the Saudi government in an effort to help promote the country. Those who organized the event or who agreed to take part largely steered clear of discussing the controversy surrounding the country. “Unfortunately, it's in a part of the world where most people don't agree with what happened, and I definitely don't support anything like that,” Johnson said, according to ESPN. “I'm going to play golf, not support them. I'm not a politician. I play golf." Bryson DeChambeau praised the European Tour for "growing the game internationally" by hosting an event in Saudi Arabia. Rose, the top-ranked player in the world heading into the weekend, cited "other reasons" besides politics to take part. “It's a good field, there's going to be a lot of world ranking points to play for,” he said. “By all accounts, it's a good golf course and it will be an experience to experience Saudi Arabia." Keith Pelley, the CEO of the European Tour, defended the tournament in an interview with the Golf Channel. He noted that the Middle East is an important partner for the sport, as it's one of the few regions with the climate for events this time of year. The event drew some pushback from golf pros and analysts. Paul Casey, ranked 22nd in the world, clarified in a social media post that he had not signed a contract to play in Saudi Arabia. Casey is an ambassador for UNICEF. Saudi Arabia and its crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, have faced renewed scrutiny in recent months following Khashoggi's death. The dissident journalist was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in early October. His remains have not been found since. The Saudi government initially denied knowledge of Khashoggi's whereabouts, and changed its story multiple times before announcing charges against more than a dozen people in the incident. U.S. and international intelligence officials have indicated that the crown prince likely played a role in Khashoggi's death. In response to Khashoggi's death, U.S. officials and numerous prominent business leaders said they would not attend the Saudi-sponsored Future Investment Initiative in October.<doc-sep>CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Justin Rose, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Ian Poulter and Patrick Reed are among notables in the field for the European Tour’s Saudi International 2019 this week in Saudi Arabia. Round 2 is Friday, Feb. 1. SAUDI INTERNATIONAL LEADERBOARD EUROPEAN TOUR SAUDI INTERNATIONAL Site: King Abdulla Economic City, Saudi Arabia. Course: Royal Greens Golf & CC. Yardage: 7,010. Par: 70. Purse: $3.5 million. Winner's share: $583,333. Television: Friday, 3-5 a.m., 6:30-9:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 4:30-9 a.m. (Golf Channel). Defending champion: New tournament. Race to Dubai leader: Shane Lowry. Last week: Bryson DeChambeau won the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. Notes: The first European Tour event in Saudi Arabia lined up a top-heavy field with four of the top five in the world ranking — Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau. ... This will be only the second time since the Tour Championship on Sept. 23 that Rose and Koepka have played in the same tournament. The other was the HSBC Champions, where Rose was third and Koepka tied for 16th. ... Johnson and Koepka played two weeks ago in Abu Dhabi, while DeChambeau was in Dubai last week. ... Rose and Patrick Reed were at Torrey Pines last week in San Diego. ... The Saudi International is among six European Tour events on the Arabian Peninsula. Thirty years ago, there was only one (Dubai). ... The field features eight players who took part in the Ryder Cup last fall in France. ... The course is located along the Red Sea. ... The clubhouse opened just over a year ago. Next week: ISPS Handa Vic Open in Australia. Online: www.europeantour.com (Fact box from Associated Press.)<doc-sep>
The European Tour have been accused of turning a blind eye to an "abhorrent, reprehensible regime" by staging an event in Saudi Arabia, with top players also coming in for criticism. The inaugural Saudi International, which gets under way on Thursday, has attracted a star-studded field despite the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year in the Saudi consulate in Turkey focusing further attention on the country's regime. England's Paul Casey confirmed on Friday that human rights violations were behind his decision not to compete at the Royal Greens Country Club, but four of the world's top five and the likes of Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter are due to contest the £2.6 million event. Golf Channel analyst and former PGA Tour professional Brandel Chamblee said: "I'm a big fan of the European Tour, a big fan of (chief executive) Keith Pelley. I think they take chances. "Politically I get why you have to capitulate to Saudi Arabia and maybe from a business standpoint even, but a more definitive personal rebuke can be shown to the PR stunt of this regime by not participating, by refusing to participate, because your participation in some way enriches this regime. "By non-participation of the athletes in general, you can in some marginal way - and I applaud Paul Casey - make a statement about human rights. Whether the European Tour knows it, whether the players know it, by participating they are a ventriloquist for this abhorrent, reprehensible regime." The European Tour had no comment to make about Chamblee's criticism but chief executive Pelley attempted to deflect concerns when the event was confirmed as part of the 2019 schedule in November. "We have heard some of the criticism of the region, we have listened and will continue to monitor the situation," he said. "We have had no dialogue with our partners, our own government, the golf federation or anyone from Saudi Arabia."