物議醸すリブ・シリーズ米初戦が開幕、地元では抗議の声

【ロサンゼルスＡＦＰ＝時事】サウジアラビアが後援する新リーグ、リブゴルフ・インビテーショナルシリーズ第２戦は３０日、米オレゴン州ノースプレーンズのパンプキンリッジＧＣ（パー７２）で開幕し、カルロス・オルティス（メキシコ）が５アンダー「６７」で首位発進した。（写真はリブゴルフ・インビテーショナルシリーズ第２戦に出場したブルックス・ケプカ）
　大会初出場のオルティスは、この日７バーディー、２ボギーの好スコアでトップに立った。米ツアーでメジャー通算２勝を誇るダスティン・ジョンソン（米国）は、自身の最終ホールとなった１７番でティーショットを右に曲げながらも、木の間を通すショットを放って無理かと思われたパーセーブに成功し、１打差の４アンダー「６８」で単独２位に続いている。
　賞金総額が２５００万ドル（約３４億円）に上り、「ショットガン」スタートで予選カットなしの３日間で競う同シリーズをめぐっては、開催への抗議や法的手段に訴える声が出るなど、ゴルフ界をさらなる分断に導いている。メジャー通算４勝のブルックス・ケプカ（米国）や２０２０年全米オープン選手権覇者のブライソン・デシャンボー（米国）らスター選手が続々と参戦しているものの、大会への批判は免れないものと思われる。
　この日は、２００１年に起きた米同時多発攻撃の遺族会メンバーが、怒りの記者会見を開いた。犠牲者の家族は、ハイジャック犯が飛行機で世界貿易センターのタワーに激突するなど、米国各地で数千人が亡くなった攻撃にサウジアラビアが関与していたと主張。ハイジャック犯１９人のうち、国際テロ組織アルカイダの指導者ウサマ・ビンラディン容疑者を含め１５人はサウジ国籍だった。
　オーストラリアの元名ゴルファーであるグレッグ・ノーマン氏が最高経営責任者（ＣＥＯ）を務めている同シリーズは、サウジアラビアの政府系ファンド「公的投資基金」が資金援助を行っており、同国がスポーツを通じてイメージアップを推し進めていると人権保護団体から厳しい批判が出ている。
　米国でのシリーズ初戦が行われているオレゴン州では、地元の首長１１人がパンプキンリッジＧＣを所有するエスカランテ・ゴルフに対して書簡で正式に抗議している。
　同州では２０１６年に当時１５歳のファーロン・スマートさんがひき逃げ事故で亡くなり、サウジアラビア出身の大学生が第１級殺人罪に直面した。しかし、公判開始前にこの大学生は監視装置を外して逃亡しており、米当局はサウジ政府が国外脱出を手助けしたとの見解を示していた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/07/05-14:51）

The first US event in the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series teed off in Oregon on Thursday amid continued protests and threats of legal action that would further divide the global game.
Mexico's Carlos Ortiz, making his LIV Golf debut, took the lead in the 54-hole event, firing seven birdies with two bogeys in a five-under par 67 at Pumpkin Ridge near Portland, Oregon.
Two-time major winner Dustin Johnson, one of the series' most prized catches, was a stroke back on 68, capping his round with an unlikely par save with a shot through the trees on his final hole, where he was well right off the tee.
Despite the golf on display, and the addition of such names as four-time major winner Brooks Koepka and 2020 US Open winner Bryson DeChambeau, the event couldn't escape controversy.
A group of family members of people killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks held a press conference to voice their outrage.
Andre Aiken, who was three years old when his father, Terrance, died at the World Trade Center in New York, was among family members who insisted Saudi Arabia should be held accountable for a role in the attacks, in which hijackers flew planes into the towers and other targets in the United States, leaving thousands dead.
Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals including Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, who orchestrated the attacks.
Because of the actions of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, there were a lot of pivotal moments that my father couldn't be there for. I'll never know the sound of his voice, the feeling of him hugging me, Aiken said.
He also offered thanks to all the athletes who have opted not to participated in the series, and showed that their silence can't be bought and that they're not just athletes, that they can stand for something bigger.
The series spearheaded by Australian golf great Greg Norman is bankrolled by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, drawing stinging criticism from human rights groups which say the circuit is an effort to boost the kingdom's image through sport.
The controversial series offers record prize money of $25 million per 54-hole event with shotgun starts and no cut.
The series' Saudi ties have hit close to home in Oregon, with 11 local mayors formally objecting to the event in a letter to Pumpkin Ridge's corporate owner Escalante Golf.
In 2016, 15-year-old Fallon Smart was killed in a hit-and-run traffic accident in Oregon that had Saudi college student Abdulrahman Sameer Noorah facing a first-degree murder charge.
He removed his monitoring device before his trial began and US authorities said they believed the Saudi government helped him leave the country.
Golfers who have opted into the lucrative series -- which also guarantees money to some stars just for appearing -- have tried to distance themselves from any such concerns.
DeChambeau, the 2020 US Open champion, said in a testy pre-tournament press conference that people should move on.
- Players threaten legal action -
But the rebels aren't averse to taking on the US PGA Tour and DP World Tour, as the established circuits take a hard line against players who opt into the new series.
That includes stripping players who jump ship of their US PGA Tour membership.
The DP World Tour confirmed that it had received a letter from more than a dozen players who had threatened legal action unless the fines and suspensions levied against them for competing in the first LIV Golf event in England were rescinded.
The intention of this letter is not to further divide us, but to respond to Tour statements and to pose questions that the Tour should answer and we should discuss in detail, the players wrote.
They requested a response by Friday, and called for a meeting between DP World Tour officials and players to discuss the issues.
If not, you will leave us with no choice but to employ the various other means and methods at our disposal to rectify these wrongs, the players wrote.