IRELAND'S SHANE Lowry has come out fighting against the criticism he has received for agreeing to play in next month’s controversial Saudi International by stating he’s ‘not a politician, he’s a golfer’.
The Offaly native addressed the media and a recent editorial in the Washington Post that said that golfers who play in the Saudi International are “accepting blood money.”
Lowry said that it doesn't concern him as he's not in the game of politics, only golf.
“I'm happy to go there. I'm happy to earn my living going there and going and playing good golf and hopefully win a tournament,” Lowry said on Tuesday.
“I think for me as a golfer, I'm not a politician, I'll let everyone else take care of that, and I'll go and do my job.”
🗣 'What is the red line for you?' 🤔
Shane Lowry is among a number of professional golfers who have decided to continue to play in Saudi Arabia. We discussed the issue of sports washing in golf on #OTBAM. ⛳️@GilletteUK | #BestFaceForward
Full chat ➡️ https://t.co/UrDwApkarR pic.twitter.com/FEUEeJeP12— Off The Ball (@offtheball) January 12, 2022
Saudi Arabia has come under fire for it's sports washing and human rights violations in recent years. Most notably the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey.
The event is now the flagship event on the Asian Tour, which is also launching 10 new events spearheaded by Greg Norman and is backed by 200 million US dollars from the Saudi government's Private Investment Fund.
When asked about Saudi Arabia's sportwashing attempts to use such events ", Lowry said:
"Look, obviously there's no hiding from the people writing about this tournament or what they're saying about us going to play, but at the end of the day for me I'm not a politician, I'm a professional golfer.
"I earn a living for myself and my family and try to take care of those, and this is just a part of that.
"The top players are looked after going there, and that's great, but top players have got looked after all over the world over the last number of years, whether it be whatever country they go to.
"But I'm happy to go there. I'm happy to earn my living going there and going and playing good golf and hopefully win a tournament."
Tommy Fleetwood, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Bryson DeChambeau, and defending champion Dustin Johnson will compete at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in Jeddah next month
Our leaderboard last year 😲#SaudiIntlGolf #SeeItall pic.twitter.com/k0AkGl6CcU
— Saudi International | السعودية الدولية (@SaudiIntlGolf) January 12, 2022
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