Unsealed emails detail Yasir Al-Rumayyan’s involvement in LIV Golf

While Al-Rumayyan’s interest in golf and his role with the PIF, which owns LIV Golf and is negotiating an alliance with the PGA Tour, has never been in question, lawyers had previously downplayed his day-to-day involvement in LIV Golf.

Emails unsealed Thursday night show that officials kept Al-Rumayyan apprised of LIV business discussions and sought his approval before moving forward with key initiatives. One July 2022 email from Atul Khosla, a former LIV executive, to his colleagues seemed to refer to the turbulence the start-up league faced in its inaugural season. “Need to show [Al-Rumayyan] how we have looked to change the narrative — I am trying to think how best we can provide update/screen shot of key articles, what we have in the works, chatter on social? Open to ideas but i need to get him comfortable that we are moving things in the right direction.”

Other emails and documents noted that Al-Rumayyan was briefed and approved operational activities, such as LIV’s launch date and its partnership with the Asian Tour. One document outlining LIV operations noted a weekly meeting with Al-Rumayyan and LIV executives, including Greg Norman, the league’s chief executive; plus a monthly meeting with the PIF board; and an annual “workshop” for strategic planning involving Al-Rumayyan and LIV leadership.

The documents were voluntarily unsealed by LIV lawyers late Thursday night, months after a request by the New York Times, which is urging the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to make more than 60 records public even though the litigation between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf has ended. LIV lawyers say the vast majority of the records should remain sealed, but in “the interest of simplifying this dispute” with the Times, the organization unsealed 13 records. A U.S. district judge will rule whether more documents should be made public.

While the unsealed documents will have no bearing on the now-settled litigation between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, they could be of interest to lawmakers who are investigating the proposed alliance between the tour and LIV’s Saudi benefactors. The Saudi PIF and Al-Rumayyan have rebuffed efforts from the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to testify at a proposed Capitol Hill hearing this month. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the subcommittee chair, has made a broad request for documents from the PIF and last month reiterated his demand that Al-Rumayyan appear before the subcommittee, threatening to “consider other legal methods to compel the PIF’s compliance” if the PIF governor refuses. The subcommittee has a…