Harrington believes Saudi Arabia move can be "positive force"
Pádraig Harrington. Picture: PGA of America
Pádraig Harrington has tentatively backed the European Tour's decision to stage an event in Saudi Arabia next year and insisted that golf can be a positive force for change.
The new Saudi International event, scheduled for January 31 to February 3 next year, was launched in London last March and included in the European Tour’s 2019 schedule on Monday, less than a month after the murder of dissident Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the Turkish Airlines Open yesterday, Harrington said that while the situation needs to be “monitored” and that going to Saudi Arabia was "a difficult decision and it was not taken lightly by the European Tour,” he believed golf could be a force for change.
"The European Tour, like a lot of people, is trying to build relationships around the world and go to new venues and new ventures and look to move forward,” Harrington said.
"And then of course, the question always comes when you go to something like this, are you helping by going or if you pull away? You could go back to the 80s and apartheid, by not going to South Africa are you pushing them away and making society poorer or weaker, or less open by pushing them out?
"If you go, are you supporting? It is the age-old question and for a lot more qualified people than me to know if it is a good thing to go in there."
Harrington added: "There is no doubt by us being there, it opens up society all the more. It brings a new look and that's what the Saudis would like.
"They are trying to open up their economy, they are trying to open up their society and the European Tour and other sporting occasions are part of bringing the world to them."
He went on: "If we went back 50 years in any of our societies, I can tell you, we needed to open up. It is not 100 percent clear. It is obviously not a 100 per cent black or white answer to say, are we helping or not. Let's hope we are helping."
Amnesty International has denounced human rights abuses in many countries visited by the European Tour, including Turkey, the US, China and Saudi Arabia.
"As an individual, I have travelled to a lot of places and played a lot of golf in different countries,” Harrington said. “And if you started getting down to the nitty-gritty, at times, there have been questionable places we've gone to.
“But again, on the other side, being there you are opening up society in those countries and helping. You are opening up the world golf which is not a bad thing.
“When you look at golf in particular, the attributes that golf brings anybody who plays it are great so we'd love to see kids all around the world and even in Saudi Arabia say ‘hey that's a game we can play. ‘
“Certainly around the world we help to make things better. Everywhere we go we make things better but this is a situation that needs to be monitored and certainly not something that's taken lightly.
“Let's hope it's a step forward rather than a step backwards, but I do understand in some situations there have been plenty of sanctions and in some cases that's the only way forward and in others you have to work with it, work through it and work your way forward.
“I am not sure if this is so black and white but I know the European Tour are taking this very seriously and are thinking very strongly about it and they have taken the attitude at this stage that they can be more of a positive force.”
