PGA Tour Board Member Resigns Over 'Serious Concerns' About Merger With Saudi PIF, Cites Death Of Columnist Jamal Khashoggi

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Former AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson has become the first PGA Tour board member to resign from their post in the wake of the planned merger between the Tour, DP World Tour, and the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF).

The PGA Tour confirmed Stephenson's resignation in a memo to all of its members.

Stephenson was a member of the Tour's board for over 12 years, but mentioned "serious concerns" and cited the death of Saudi columnist Jama Khashoggi in his letter of resignation obtained by the Washington Post.

Jamal Khashoggi was killed in Istanbul in 2018 and is a reason Randall Stephenson is stepping down from the PGA Tour board. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

The letter, dated July 8, explained that the merger " is not one that I can objectively evaluate or in good conscience support, particularly in light of the U.S. intelligence report concerning Jamal Khashoggi in 2018."

"I hope, as this board moves forward, it will comprehensively rethink its governance model and keep its options open to evaluate alternative sources of capital beyond the current framework agreement," Stephenson's letter also read in part.

Khashoggi, a contributing columnist for the Post, was a critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 with U.S. intelligence finding that the crown prince most likely approved the killing.

READ: LIV GOLF’S FUTURE REPORTEDLY FALLS UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE PGA TOUR AS FRAMEWORK OF MERGER LEAKS

Khashoggi's death and claims of sportswashing have been at the forefront of the argument against both LIV Golf and now the announcement of the merger.

There are still dozens of questions to be answered about the PGA Tour - Saudi PIF merger, with some likely to be answered as the DOJ is looking into the plans.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.