Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
About
Christology
Israel/Palestine
Publications
KermitZarley.com
Archives
Categories
- Angels
- Blog Description
- Book Reviews
- Christian Living
  - Unconditional Love?
- Christianity
- Christology
  - Deity of Christ?
  - Holy Spirit
  - Incarnation?
  - My Change
  - Trinity?
- Church History
- Current Events
- War on Terrorism
- Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
- Eschatology
- Ezekiel 38-39
- Last Empire
- Primitive Weapons
- Film Reviews
- God
- Golf
  - Billy Graham
  - Karsten Solheim
  - Lee Trevino
  - Major Championship Winners
  - Masters
  - Purpose
  - Ryder Cup
- Gospel Harmonization
- Interview
- Islam
- Jesus
- Literary Announcements
- Monotheism
- My Books
  - The Restitution of Jesus Christ
- Old Testament
- Politics
- Society of Biblical Literature
- The Bible
- Trinitarianism
- Uncategorized
FREE NEWSLETTER

Home
Progressive Christian
Religion News
Will the Pumpkin Explode at The Oregon Ridge?

Will the Pumpkin Explode at The Oregon Ridge?

Last updated on: April 28, 2025 at 11:53 am by Kermit Zarley

0 Comments

Will the Pumpkin Explode at The Oregon Ridge? 2025-04-28T11:53:27-07:00 Kermit Zarley

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The disruptive, upstart LIV Golf Invitational Series comes to Pumpkin Ridge next week, and it could result in hostile demonstrations.

I’ve been blogging about the renegade American pro golfers who have joined the new, Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series that is causing quite a crisis in professional golf around the world. The Saudis have been investing big time in sports to try to clean up their miserable image about human rights, but especially their supposed assassination, and reportedly the grotesque dismemberment of his body, of world-class journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

One of these Saudi investments by its Public Investment Fund is LIV Golf. It had its first tournament in London two weeks ago. Several major championship winners who are members of the PGA Tour and some who are also members of the DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) participated in that event despite the PGA Tour rejecting their request for a release to participate in a foreign event opposite a PGA Tour event the same week, which was the RBC Canadian Open.

When that happened, Commissioner Jay Monohan of the PGA Tour immediately suspended those members indefinitely in accord with its regulations. The DP World Tour’s CEO Keith Pelley just two days ago went further by fining three of its members who participated in that London event about $125,000 each and made substantial threats about the future. He also said those players will not be eligible to play in three upcoming, new tournaments this summer which are for the first time being co-sponsored by both the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour.

It turns out that the PGA Tour has a bylaw that says it cannot permanently ban a member, but the DP World Tour has no such restriction. Pelley, in making his decisive declaration, also mentioned a “strategic alliance” between the DP World Tour and PGA Tour, which was entered into (I think) in 2019. He said the emergence of LIV Golf is a serious threat to these two tours if not pro golf tours in general around the world and that it has caused the strategic alliance between the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour to be strengthened.

The second LIV Golf event comes to the USA for the first time next week. It will be held at the championship Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Oregon. It is a small community nestled among pristine farmland and located twenty miles northwest of Portland. Already, a dozen of its members have resigned their memberships in protest of the club hosting LIV Golf due surely to its association with Saudi Arabia. Some of them have spoken out publicly against the Texas-based Escalante Golf, which owns Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, for hosting LIV Golf, accusing it of aligning itself with Saudi “sportwashing.” The original Pumpkin Ridge owners sold it to Escalante Golf in 2015.

Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club board member Andy McNiece has said publicly, “Escalante Golf has sold out our club’s honor, and to a certain extent, I feel they’ve sold out a little bit of my honor, too.” Another original club member reportedly has said, anonymously, “You think differently in Texas. Why don’t you host it there? To me, the Khashoggi thing is extremely troubling. On principle, I could never support it for that reason.”

However, the director of Esclante Golf said Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club had received 34 new members since its LIV Golf tournament was announced. The club’s ground and its clubhouse have received a huge makeover since this announcement, and it has surely been paid by Saudi petrodollars.

Oregon’s provocative, Democratic Senator Ron Wyden is quite critical of the Saudi Arabian government. He said of next week’s LIV Golf at Pumpkin Ridge, “The Saudis are just trying to wash bloodstained hands.”

Two other LIV Golf events will be held this year in the U.S. Both will be held on properties owned by former President Donald Trump via his Trump Organization.

Another aspect of this crisis in professional golf involves the surviving families of people who lost their lives in the 9-11 attack on the U.S., in which almost 3,000 Americans instantly died. That most horrific terrorist event in U.S. history was conducted by 19 Arab men, in which 15 of them were Saudi citizens.

ESPN reported three days ago, “A group of nearly 2,500 survivors of family members killed or injured in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, have written an open letter to PGA Tour members to thank them for remaining loyal to the tour and not joining the rival LIV Golf Invitational Series, which is being financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.”

I wonder if there will be demonstrations at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club next week when Saudi “blood money,” as some are calling it, comes to the USA for the first time via these LIV Golf players.

Golf

LIV Golf

PGA TOUR

Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club

Previous Post

June 24, 2022

This Week's House Hearings Investigating the Capitol Riot

Next Post

June 25, 2022 Is Donald Trump "Unfit for this Country"?

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"Glen, you seem to be advocating a preterist viewpoint, with which I disagree." I'm a ..."

Kermit Zarley

Family Estrangement Versus Honoring Father and ..."

"THESIS is a SCRIPTURE QUOTE.“Remember the predictions foretold by the holy prophets and by the ..."

glen smith

Family Estrangement Versus Honoring Father and ..."

"How are they going to answer it. They don't have unlimited financial resources. They're trying ..."

Kermit Zarley

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Getting Much Worse

"...but isn't that an important question to answer?"

Harold Porter

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Getting Much Worse

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Angels Billy Graham Blog Description Book Reviews Christian Living Christianity Christology Church History Current Events Deity of Christ? Disarmament Eschatology Evangelicalism Ezekiel 38-39 Film Reviews God Golf Gospel Harmonization Health History Holy Spirit Incarnation? Interview Islam Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Jesus Last Empire Literary Announcements Major Championship Winners Masters Monotheism My Books New Testament Old Testament Politics Primitive Weapons Ryder Cup Science Society of Biblical Literature The Bible The Restitution of Jesus Christ Trinitarianism Trinity? Uncategorized Unconditional Love? War on Terrorism

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: In 2 Corinthians, Paul describes himself as having a thorn in the flesh.

Select your answer to see how you score.

FALSE TRUE

Books by This Author Books by Kermit Zarley Blog

See All Titles »