LIV Golf makes us ask, is there such a thing as too much money?

Poulter expressed outrage over his suspension. “There’s so considerably additional to (LIV) than the dollars,” Poulter harrumphed, while there appears to be nothing at all a lot more to LIV than the revenue. That stated, it’s a ton of cash.

Poulter was requested in London if he’d perform in a golfing tournament staged by Vladimir Putin. “That’s speculation,” he claimed. Which was not quite a “no,” was it?

What will make LIV additional than an affront to the snooty PGA is that the principal backer of LIV is the General public Investment decision Fund of Saudi Arabia, which effectively is the Saudi treasury. As Mickelson conceded in his infamous interview with Alan Shipnuck, Saudi Arabia has “a terrible file on human rights. They execute people today for staying homosexual above there.”

(FYI: Shipnuck reported by means of Twitter he was ejected from Mickelson’s push conference immediately after Thursday’s spherical.)

U.S. intelligence believes Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salam ordered the assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in 2018. Khashoggi was lured to the Saudi consulate and never observed yet again. CCTV footage of him getting into the consulate is as chilling as nearly anything that has at any time appeared on the internet.

And nonetheless: CNN reported Friday that the U.S. government is “prepared to transfer on with a ‘reset’ of the relationship” with Saudi Arabia, deeming it “a dramatic about-confront for President Joe Biden,” who last calendar year labeled Saudi Arabia “a pariah.” On its web-site, the U.S. Point out Section proclaims: “The United States and Saudi Arabia get pleasure from a robust financial romance. … Saudi Arabia is the 3rd-main source of imported oil for the United States.”

Also Friday: AAA mentioned the ordinary price tag of a gallon of gas at $4.98.

Even after Khashoggi’s murder, the U.S. didn’t halt undertaking enterprise with Saudi Arabia. Really should golfers be held to a bigger common than the nation that considers itself the land of the free of charge? The exact General public Expenditure Fund is the vast majority owner of Newcastle United of the Leading League. Is it Ok to fund a soccer workforce but not a golfing tour? (Take note: The Saudi desire in athletic endeavors is acknowledged as “sportswashing.”)

I’m not seeking to be adorable. I’m inquiring because I actually really don’t know. I’d love to feel I’d change down any quantity of funds if I considered it filthy. Full disclosure, while: No one has provided to toss $200M my way. It is easy to rip a dude like Mickelson for enriching himself to the level of gluttony, but who amid us is devoid of sin?

Which is the point about temptations. They would not exist if they weren’t tempting.