DeSantis-linked PR shop ditches PGA Tour amid LIV Golf merger blowback

The Ron DeSantis-connected PR shop Clout Public Affairs has dropped the PGA Tour as a client, after it announced its plans to merge with the Saudi-funded LIV Golf.

The firm had been working with both the PGA Tour and the families of 9/11 victims who had been agitating against LIV Golf for its Saudi ties. It was one of a number of public relations or lobbying shops that had cashed in on the high-profile feud between the storied PGA Tour and the controversial upstart LIV Golf.

"Given recent events, we have respectfully ended our engagement with the PGA TOUR,” said Ashlee Rich Stephenson, Clout’s president, in a statement. “9/11 Justice remains a client.”

Clout Public Affairs is a division of Axiom Strategies, a Republican political and public affairs shop founded by political operative Jeff Roe. Roe is also an adviser to the pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down. Clout Public Affairs, which had become embroiled in the legal battle between LIV and its client PGA, had been subpoenaed by LIV and accused the golf league of trying to track the 9/11 families.

Brett Eagleson, the president of 9/11 Justice, said it was the right decision for Clout Public Affairs to part ways with the PGA Tour. The group had decided to hire Clout because the firm was also working with the PGA Tour, an ally of the 9/11 families on this issue. Once they learned that PGA was outsourcing some of its PR and marketing to the firm, 9/11 Justice decided to engage Clout as well, Eagleson said.

“They’re choosing the side of justice and transparency,” he said, of Clout’s decision to drop its client. “I wholly support their decision, and I’m proud to stand with them. I’m proud to support ‘em.”

Eagleson and his organization were among a group of veterans, Gold Star families and family members of 9/11 victims hosted by DeSantis at the governor’s mansion in Tallahassee this past Memorial Day, an event that took place while former President Donald Trump hosted a LIV tournament at his golf course outside of Washington.

The PGA Tour and DeSantis’ campaign did not immediately return requests for comment.

The announcement of LIV Golf and the PGA Tour merger roiled professional sports and Washington alike. Trump celebrated the announcement on Truth Social. A number of lawmakers condemned the move.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) tweeted that it appeared to “betray victims of human rights abuses, 9/11 families, & others.” An aide to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who also publicly criticized the deal, said he was considering a number of moves to investigate it, including requesting review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States or pursuing matters within the jurisdiction of the Finance Committee.

Daniel Lippman contributed to this report.