Two-thirds approve of investigations into PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger: survey

About two-thirds of Americans approve of investigations into the merger between golf rivals PGA Tour and LIV Golf, according to a new survey released on Wednesday.

The Quinnipiac University poll found that 65 percent approved of probes by the Senate and Justice Department into the merger, while 18 percent disapproved of such investigations.

Quinnipiac University poll

Fifty-one percent said they disapproved of the merger itself, and 45 percent said that an American sports organization should not be doing business with a Saudi-backed sports organization, like LIV Golf, the survey found.

The PGA Tour and LIV Golf announced the merger earlier this month, after more than a year and a half of antitrust litigation between the two rivals.

The announcement was immediately met with pushback, as lawmakers questioned the PGA Tour’s “drastic reversal” on LIV Golf.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sent letters to both organizations last week asking for details on the controversial partnership.

“The PGA Tour has spent two years lambasting Saudi sports-washing and paying lip service the integrity of the sport of golf, which will now be used unabashedly by the Kingdom to distract from its many crimes,” Blumenthal said in a statement.

The Senate Finance Committee launched a “wide-ranging” probe into the merger last Thursday, requesting information on the deal from PGA Tour leadership, while the Justice Department has reportedly also opened an investigation into the merger.

The Quinnipiac University poll was conducted June 15-19 with 1,776 registered voters and had a margin of error of 2.3 percentage points.