FORE! : How Saudi Arabia is using golf to change its image

 It is no secret that Saudi Arabia does not have the best track record when it comes to human rights, the whole world knows it. Like many of their gulf neighbors, Saudi Arabia is attempting to use sport as a way to change the international and internal image of itself. They are using the billions of “blood money” dollars to lure some of the world's best golfers away from the already established and prestigious PGA Tour to their own LIV Golf series as a form of “sportwashing” and to help change the narrative of their nation. This attempt, as outlined in this New York Times article, is the most bold of any of the gulf nations as a way to sport wash people from viewing Saudi Arabia as a human rights disaster to a more “conservative muslim nation” that backs and particpiates in world sport. What makes this attempt so bold is that instead of backing a sport or like its neighbor Qatar, hosting a FIFA World Cup, they are attempting to completely take over a sport, one that has its own controversial history with inclusion and diversity. 

The attempt to overrun the historical white elitist sport of golf (which the PGA Tour has had its own struggles rebranding itself as a more diverse sport) and upsetting the nearly one hundred year PGA Tour system of professional golf is by far the boldest attempt yet by a middle eastern nation attempting to change their image. The emergence of the LIV Golf Series and the departure of top PGA players to join them for reported absurd amounts of money, have all raised the questions and concerns of the LIV Golf motives and then also the history of the PGA Tour and how it has historically treated its players and its lack of equal opportunities to those of color. 

Despite the LIV Golf Series gaining traction and more players resigning from the PGA Tour to join LIV, it really hasn’t changed professional golf yet as still the majority of the world's top players continue to play for the PGA Tour. And with every player that joins LIV they get grilled by the media about Saudi Arabia’s history of human rights violations and whether or not they condone it because of the money they are willing to accept from them to support this PR movement by the Saudi Arabian government. So, at least right now Saudi Arabia is not being left off the hook for backing LIV golf as currently people see through it. But as more and more players jump ship over to LIV and they play more and more events, especially when the start to play events in the US starting in July, it will be interesting to see just how effective this “sportwashing” can be and if it truly does change the narrative of Saudi Arabia.