[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 102 (Wednesday, June 15, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H5604-H5607]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1800
                              THE PGA TOUR

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 2021, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Roy) for 30 minutes.
  Mr. ROY. Madam Speaker, it is always good to be here in a nice empty 
Chamber, the definition of debate here in the people's House. But such 
is the way of our current process of debate.
  I always try to remind the American people that as they are no doubt 
all gathered around their living rooms watching C-SPAN, sitting around 
talking about the issues of the day that there are two Members of the 
House of Representatives here, and that this is somehow what debate 
looks like.

[[Page H5605]]

  We just passed an inauspicious milestone last week in which we had 
the 6-year anniversary of not having offered an amendment on the floor 
of the House of Representatives in open debate. Not one Member of the 
House of Representatives for the last 6 years has been able to go down 
to the desk and offer an amendment to change a piece of legislation. 
That is not what the American people think we do. They think we 
actually sit down here and offer an amendment and we debate and go 
through stuff, but that never happens. I think that really is kind of 
endemic of the problem why people are so frustrated with this town, but 
I think there is something deeper going on in our country, something 
deeper that merits focus.
  As the Marquis de Lafayette has famously said something along the 
lines of America is great because America is good. I believe that. But 
I am increasingly curious if all Americans do. We have a cultural 
problem in this country. We should be honest. We have been kind of fat 
and happy for a while. Robust economy, generally peaceful and secure 
communities over the last several decades, low interest rates, housing.
  But now the chickens seem to be coming home to roost. Interest rates 
are rising. National debt is skyrocketing. Inflation is off the charts. 
Food prices are up. Home prices are up. Gas prices are at $5 a gallon 
and rising. Crime is rising in our communities, big cities in 
particular but across the country. Fentanyl is pouring in. Record 
deaths. Opioid poisonings and overdoses. Wide open borders. The cartels 
have control of our borders. The price of goods and services are 
crushing American families. That is the reality of what we are facing 
right now.
  And I talk about those things a lot, and there is something that has 
been on my mind this week. This week for a lot of fathers is Father's 
Day. This week for fans of college baseball is the week of the College 
World Series. I am a big fan of college baseball, as is my son. I 
brought him up here to see the University of Virginia play in 2014 and 
again in 2015. It is next week. We have got the University of Texas, my 
law school alma mater, Texas A&M University, and six other schools 
playing in the College World Series.
  But my pure sports love is golf. I was a not very good walk-on at the 
University of Virginia. Had I been better, then I wouldn't be relegated 
to this Chamber. I would be out and about making money playing the 
tour. But alas, here I am as a Member of Congress, and I am going to 
use floor time on the House of Representatives to talk about the PGA 
Tour, something I never really thought that I would do. It never really 
seems to rise to the level of something you would talk about in the 
people's House.
  But here is the problem: Today, we have a few American players on the 
PGA Tour that are bolting for enormous, guaranteed checks by the Saudi 
Arabian bankrolled LIV Golf league. Now, that catches my attention 
because it gets to the heart of something that is wrong in this 
country. Those individuals are doing themselves, their reputations, 
their chosen sport, and the American communities in which they have 
previously allegedly invested, a very deep disservice in the process. 
The PGA Tour is absolutely right to sanction them for it.
  This week is the week of the United States Open Championship. It is 
at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. That is particularly 
noteworthy for golf fans because it is the site of an epic story of a 
young, American man, Francis Ouimet, who was able to win the United 
States Open unexpectedly back in, I think, 1913--I'm pulling that from 
my memory--over a century ago. It was the site of the epic comeback of 
the American Ryder Cup team in 1999 when University of Texas Longhorn, 
Justin Leonard, sunk a 40-foot putt on the 17th hole. It is a historic 
venue right outside of Boston, a historic American city deeply rooted 
in our history.
  And yet, there is a cloud hanging over the United States Open this 
week. And that cloud is the greed and the absurd self-absorbed nature 
of a handful of the PGA Tour's elites who are willing to sell their 
athletic soul, their professional soul to a Saudi Arabian league for 
their shekels. And it is absolutely an abomination.
  Thankfully, most of the best players in the world are proudly and 
loudly holding firm, players like Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Justin 
Thomas, to name a few. But this issue is bigger than just a few players 
or a mere competition within the game of golf that some want to dismiss 
it as.
  The LIV Golf league, as I said, is beholden to the Saudis and helping 
them whitewash their global reputation and history of human rights 
abuses and supporting terrorists, the very terrorists that attacked 
America 21 years ago.
  The Saudi golf league is bad for professional golf for a host of 
reasons, from the Saudi's human rights abuses to the gouging of 
Americans on gas. The Saudis are not our friends. LIV is ignoring Saudi 
Arabia's connections to the national tragedy of 9/11 or the many other 
grave human rights abuses that the country has faced over the years, 
and it is disappointing to witness.
  Handing tens of millions of dollars to professional golfers like 
Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, and Phil Mickelson who can look the 
other way, ignore the questions all for their personal enrichment. What 
does that say about who we are?
  Let's talk about the PGA Tour for a second. Total charitable dollars 
from the PGA Tour and its tournaments have totaled $3.37 billion for 
thousands of charities across this country in most States across the 
Union. $3.37 billion.
  Let me stop for a second for those who don't follow golf and say, Why 
are you talking about golf on the floor of the House?
  There are dozens of PGA Tour events across this country. There is one 
in the district I represent in central Texas, the Valero Texas Open. 
The Valero Texas Open is the sixth oldest professional golf tournament 
worldwide, including the majors, the third oldest on the PGA Tour not 
counting the majors, and the longest tournament held in the same city, 
the hundredth year in 2022.
  Their charitable giving is one of the leaders in the clubhouse on the 
PGA Tour with $209 million in total and a record $22 million from the 
2022 tournament. That is 209 million charitable dollars flowing in 
through the Valero Texas Open into the communities I represent. So many 
good things come out of that.
  Now, let's talk a little bit about the guys that are bolting for the 
deep pockets of the Saudi Arabians. Phil Mickelson, famously six-time 
major winner. $133,772,000 in career earnings on the PGA Tour. Dustin 
Johnson, $107.5 million. Sergio Garcia, $66 million, Bryson DeChambeau, 
$35 million. Tiger Woods, $186 million.
  Now, let me stop. Tiger said no. Tiger was offered, I have heard, 
upwards of a billion dollars, certainly something like $750 million to 
attach his brand and go join this so-called LIV Golf league, and he 
said no so far. That is the right thing to do. How many of us would 
have turned down $750 million or a billion dollars? How many of us 
would have turned that down? So far Tiger has turned that down, and he 
should be thanked for that.
  Rory McIlroy has had $106 million of earnings on the tour. Jordan 
Spieth has had $75.8 million of winnings on the tour. They have all 
said no. But not Phil, not Dustin, not Sergio, not Bryson, not a 
handful of others who have all said, I am going to go sell my soul for 
$200 million. In the case of Phil Mickelson, $200 million of guaranteed 
money that came from the Saudi Arabians.
  How can we condone a league funded by the same people who 
orchestrated the 9/11 attacks, murdered journalists, promote anti-
Semitism, and stage mass executions?
  I had family who had to work in Saudi Arabia; one in the State 
Department, one in oil and gas. They had to be careful about whether 
they had a Bible with them. They had to be careful about what they 
said, how they acted. My female family members had to be careful about 
where they were, what they were wearing, what they were doing.
  And now you have the 9/11 Families United that have spoken out 
against this LIV Golf league due to Saudi Arabia's role in training and 
financing the 9/11 hijackers, 15 of whom were citizens of Saudi Arabia. 
It feels like a betrayal, the national chair of the 9/11 Families 
United said. My husband, who

[[Page H5606]]

died in the 9/11 attacks, was a scratch golfer. He was a Phil Mickelson 
fan. He even tried to be a pro before he worked on Wall Street. My 
youngest is the captain of his golf team. Our family understands the 
integrity that the sport requires, but these guys are not interested in 
any of that. And that is the story.
  For those that are watching this or this clip, if you are watching 
this, if you are a golf fan, you have lived and breathed watching these 
majors over the last several decades. Phil Mickelson is about my age. 
When he was playing golf out in Arizona I was at the University of 
Virginia. We overlapped a couple years. He was good. I was terrible. 
Here I am. But I have been watching him his whole career as a fan. I 
have some friends who have been on tour. I have friends that are in the 
golf industry. But I am watching Phil Mickelson. We all cheered when he 
finally won the Masters in 2004. We cheered again when he won again in 
2006, and again when he won in, I think, 2010. Then when he won the PGA 
Championship last year we thought, Oh my gosh, he won this over the age 
of 50. That is extraordinary. He is going to be able to sail off into 
the sunset and go out and get the adulation he deserves and carry golf 
forward.
  Then over the last year he and all these others say, You know what, 
no, that is not good enough. The whole purpose of the PGA Tour is a 
meritocracy. You go out and earn it. Nobody gives you anything. It is a 
great American sport because no one gives you anything.

                              {time}  1815

  You walk out on the course, you tee it up, and you better your peers, 
and for that you win the purse. It is what draws people to the sport. 
An individual alone standing on the course, standing on a green with 
thousands of people watching, millions on TV, with a club in their hand 
and one ball and they have to execute.
  What does Mickelson do? What does Sergio do? What does Bryson do? 
They sell their reputations. They sell their soul for Saudi blood 
money, the very money, the same wealth funds that are being used to 
challenge our national security and our well-being.
  This isn't competition, as some say. What are you afraid of? This is 
another tour competing with the PGA tour. Okay. Then go prove an 
economic model and go out and compete, but don't go sell your soul to 
someone buying it.
  The Saudi Golf League is exhibition golf. As many say, the PGA tour 
is for people who want to earn their success in the game of golf and 
compete against the best. Importantly, as I said--there is an old 
adage: Dance with the one who brung ya.
  The PGA tour goes back a century. The game of golf is moving from the 
aristocracy of the gentlemen's amateur ranks to the world of the mid-
20th century with Ben Hogan, a Texan; Byron Nelson, a Texan; and Sam 
Snead from Virginia, and they built a tour.
  They literally followed the sun: tournaments in California, 
tournaments in Florida, Texas, the South, they move up and they play up 
the East Coast. They follow the sun--it is a tour--and they made 
peanuts. They did it for the love of the game. They did it building a 
league. They came out in the sixties--Arnie's Army--Arnold Palmer and 
Jack Nicklaus, and they built this tour up to what I just said, $3.37 
billion in charitable giving.
  In communities across the country--the Valero Texas Open, which I 
represent. All of the great spots around this country: Pebble Beach, 
Riviera, Colonial in Fort Worth. These are integral in our communities. 
These guys just walk away. Whatever. I don't care about building up the 
next generation. I don't care about what this sport means. I don't care 
about the fact that the PGA tour has to compete against the NFL, the 
Major League Baseball, the NBA, NHL, all the other forms of 
entertainment, college football, college basketball.
  No. No. I want to look out for me. I want to look out for myself. I 
am going to go take $200 million in guaranteed money--or $120 million 
in guaranteed money, if you are Dustin Johnson, $20 to $30 million for 
Ian Poulter, and $100 million if you are Bryson DeChambeau.
  Getting guaranteed money so you can go play golf with not the best--
with money that came from Saudi Arabia, the purpose of which is to 
target and disrupt the PGA tour, and nothing more. It is an absolute 
embarrassment.
  As I said before, as I sit here on the floor of the House, why am I 
spending time on this? First of all, I have great passion for it as a 
personal matter. I have devoted a lot of my life to this sport. I love 
it. I teach my kid this sport. It is a sport based on honor. It is a 
sport based on integrity.
  That is why things like The First Tee program are valuable. You learn 
the rules. You follow the rules. It is a meritocracy. You win by going 
to the course and beating the course. You treat each other with 
respect. It is a great sport. Now these guys are just throwing that 
away. Throwing the honor of your commitment to an entity, an 
organization, that made you wealthy for playing a game; you throw that 
away to go kiss the ring of Saudi royalty and get your check. Go cash 
your check.
  Is that what life is all about? Is that where we are? I started this 
talking about America is great because America is good. Well, what is 
good about that? I am all for competition. I am all for people 
prospering and succeeding based on their skills and their talents: 
starting a business, playing a sport, whatever they are, artists. Go 
forward and sell your product.
  You want to go start a rival league, a Canadian football league that 
competes with the NFL. We had the USFL for a while. Way back in the day 
we had the NBA and the ABA. We had the NFL and then we had the AFL, 
then they merged. We got the NFL with an NFC and AFC. I get that. Time 
changed.
  But you are going to go sell your soul to the Saudis? Have some self-
respect. Actually stand up for the sport that you said you love, and 
you want to share with the world. Stand alongside the tour, the sports 
franchise, that actually is building up the game, creating development 
leagues like the Korn Ferry Tour, which was built out of the Hogan 
tour, helping our communities across the country.
  One last point of all this. I have heard the former President, 
President Trump, endorsing the LIV Golf League. Could that possibly be 
because Trump National Doral or Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in 
New Jersey will host tournaments? I suspect so. Sure as heck not 
because it is an advocacy for what is good for the sport. It is not an 
advocacy for the tour that has allowed those individuals to be elevated 
and compete against the sports that get, frankly, greater notoriety.
  Here is what is interesting about what the tour has done. These are 
the highest paid athletes of all time, as reported by Sportico: Number 
two, Tiger Woods, $2.1 billion--this is all in, endorsements and 
dollars earned; Arnold Palmer at $1.5 billion at number 3; Jack 
Nicklaus at number 4 with $1.38 billion; Phil Mickelson, $1 billion; 
Greg Norman, $815 million. These guys are all in the top 15.
  The tour has made these guys wealthy, and they turn around and they 
stab the tour in the back to go chase their 30 shekels. It is 
absolutely unconscionable.
  I stand with the tour. I stand with the players that I mentioned 
before, the Jordan Spieths, the Justin Thomases, the Rory McIlroys, the 
guys that are standing up and saying: No thanks, I am going to stick 
with the tour, I am going to dance with the one who brung ya.
  I stand up for the tour events throughout this country that are 
raising millions of dollars for charity, providing jobs, providing 
economic growth and activity. And, importantly, standing up for this 
great sport, this great institution. As we sit here in U.S. Open week, 
what I believe is the greatest golf tournament in the world because it 
is open to anyone who can compete.

  If you can go string together seven rounds of golf, you can be the 
United States Open champion. In the spirit of the country club right 
outside of Brookline, and the story of Francis Ouimet--made into a 
movie, by the way--that is the spirit of what you can do in America if 
you just set out to go do it.
  The Good Book in Luke 12:48 says: To whom much is given, much is 
expected, much is demanded--depending on your translation.
  These guys have made hundreds of millions of dollars playing a game.

[[Page H5607]]

They owe the respect to the tour and to the guys they play alongside. 
They owe to the communities that have enriched them and rallied around 
them, their courtesy of defending and standing up for the sport and the 
league and the PGA tour in this country that has enabled them to 
prosper and has helped grow this game into one of the great economic 
engines and sport franchises in the world.
  Shame on them for walking away from the PGA tour. God bless the PGA 
tour for pushing back and saying: You don't get to do that. God bless 
the members of the tour that are standing strong, standing alongside 
the community members, standing alongside all of the sponsors and the 
people that have made that work and have built such a great 
institution.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________