NORTH PLAINS, Ore. (AP) – LIV Golf’s first U.S. event was set to begin Thursday, with a group of survivors and families who lost loved ones in the Sept. 11 terror attacks planning to gather at a nearby park to speak out against the Saudi Arabia-funded tour.
Brett Eagleson was 15 years old when he lost his father in the collapse of the World Trade Center. Nearly 3,000 people were killed on that day in 2001.
“We want the golfers to know who they’re getting in bed with, who they’re doing business with,” Eagleson said. “Any golfer that chooses to go play for the LIV tournament should have to listen to the family members and look us in the eye, and explain to us why they’re taking the Saudi money and why they’re playing in this tournament. And we want the ability to educate the golfers on what we know about the Saudi role on 9/11.”
Eagleson, now 36, is among those criticizing the LIV tournament and it’s connection to a regime that has flouted human rights. All but four of the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11 were Saudi citizens, and the Saudi kingdom was the birthplace of Osama bin Laden, the head of al-Qaida and mastermind of the attack.
The LIV Golf Invitational starts Thursday at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, about 20 miles west of downtown Portland.