The 9/11 Families United organization is threatening a protest at Augusta National after the club announced that LIV golfers would be allowed to compete in the Masters Tournament.
On Tuesday, Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Riley announced in a statement that golfers who defected to the Saudi Arabian-backed LIV Golf Tour would be able to compete in one of golf’s most coveted tournaments.
Riley’s statement read:
Regrettably, recent actions have divided men’s professional golf by diminishing the virtues of the game and the meaningful legacies of those who built it. Although we are disappointed in those developments, our focus is to honor the tradition of bringing together a preeminent field of golfers this coming April.Therefore, as invitations are sent this week, we will invite those eligible under our current criteria to compete in the 2023 Masters Tournament. As we have said in the past, we look at every aspect of the Tournament each year, and any modifications or changes to invitation criteria for future Tournaments will be announced in April. We have reached a seminal
point in the history of our sport. At Augusta National, we have faith that golf, which has overcome many challenges through the years, will endure again.
LIV Golf and its golfers have faced heavy scrutiny because of the league’s ties to the Saudi Arabian government. They faced protests when they held a tournament at former President Donald Trump‘s New Jersey country club, Trump Bedminister.
Augusta National will face a protest on its grounds come April. The 9/11 Families United released a statement immediately following Augusta National’s announcement and said they would be there if the LIV Golfers were allowed to compete.
The statement read:
In the aftermath of 9/11, our country agreed we would ‘Never Forget’ that horrible day.The only reason the Saudis launched LIV was to try to make the world forget who they are and what they did, including their role in 9/11. Anyone who truly vowed to ‘never forget’ should be appalled by the decision by these golfers to put money ahead of their own country.On behalf of 9/11 Families United, we are calling on Augusta National to reconsider their open-door policy to the LIV Golfers. If they are welcomed with open arms, we will be at their front door to protest in April.
Notable golfers who have left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf include Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed, and Charles Schwartzel. All