NORTH PLAINS — LIV Golf’s brand was ever present the past few days at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club.
Fans flocked to watch stars like Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka. Content creators roamed the course shooting video and signs with phrases such as “Don’t Blink” and “Golf, But Louder” dotted the landscape.
But LIV Golf’s brand includes much that was left unsaid. The new tour’s controversial nature went largely unmentioned at Pumpkin Ridge during the three days of tournament play.
LIV Golf is funded by the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, the Public Investment Fund. At the discretion of Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, the PIF invests funds on behalf of the Saudi government.
With $2 billion in hand from the PIF, LIV Golf Investments CEO and former world No. 1 Greg Norman set out to challenge the PGA Tour and secure star power from golfers such as Mickelson, Johnson and others.
Everything at LIV Golf’s Portland Invitational — from the $25 million purse, multiple players and even the beers in spectators’ hands — were supplied with help from PIF funding. LIV Golf’s controversial nature can be traced to Saudi government’s past with human rights abuses such as the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
Incidents with the Saudi government extend locally to Oregon. Fallon Smart, a 15-year-old from Portland, was struck and killed in 2016. Abdulrahman Sameer Noorah, a 21-year-old college student and Saudi national, was charged in the death after allegedly driving a gold Lexus at nearly 60 mph.
Before his trial was set to begin, Noorah fled the country and his tracking monitor was found sliced off in a gravel yard. He allegedly received assistance from the Saudi government to do so.
The sole public mention of Smart’s name at the tournament occurred during round two Friday. A protester on a bike stopped just outside of Pumpkin Ridge’s property and held up a sign displaying Smart’s name and lifespan as a tribute.
LIV Golf newcomers such as Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Pat Perez addressed questions about the tour’s controversial nature during introductory news conferences on Thursday. DeChambeau said joining LIV Golf was a business decision for him, while Koepka and Perez said they were there to play golf.
“I understand the topics you’re trying to bring up, and they’re horrible events, but I’m here to play golf,” Perez said.
Players were asked about the fan presence, how different LIV Golf is from the PGA Tour and what it was like to compete as a team at post-round news conferences throughout the tournament.
A group of podcasters asked Johnson, tied for the lead following the second round, why their father’s love is conditional. A flustered Johnson passed the question off. Carlos Ortiz, tied with Johnson, was asked by the same group what language he curses in after shanking a ball.
“Probably Spanish,” Ortiz said. “If it’s really bad, it’s Spanish.”
Podcasters, influencers and YouTubers mixed with traditional print and broadcast media throughout the tournament. From following players from hole to hole, rubbing elbows with wealthy fans at LIV Golf’s swanky “Club 54″ lounge or filming TikToks at news conferences or the media center, content creators were ever-present.
They captured nearly as much attention as the players themselves. Fans jumped at the chance to take selfies and say hello to personalities from Country Club Adjacent. DeChambeau embraced them, having a content team follow him from hole to hole to capture footage and photos throughout tournament play.
When fans weren’t crowded around one of the headliners such as Johnson, Mickelson or Koepka, they were spending time getting concessions, playing games or watching stunt performers at an elaborate fan village.
Between watching Mickelson tee off to “Shake It Off,” meeting popular influencers and spending time at concessions, fans had their fill of options at the Portland Invitational.
All backdropped by the LIV Golf logo and “Golf, But Louder” signs, without a mention as to who paid for it all.
-- Luke Norton; lnorton@oregonian.com
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