Brett Eagleson, who was 15 when his father Bruce was killed in the terrorist attack in New York, is among the speakers at a news conference Thursday at the North Plains Veterans Park in North Plains, Ore. The Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf tour teed off Thursday, angering a group of families who lost loved ones on Sept. 11 and want the Saudi government held to account for the terrorist attacks. Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian via AP

NORTH PLAINS, Ore. — The Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf tour’s second event teed off Thursday, angering a group of families who lost loved ones on Sept. 11 and want the Saudi government held to account for the terrorist attacks.

About 10 family members and survivors spoke at a small park honoring veterans in tiny North Plains, home to Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club.

“This event is nothing more than a group of very talented athletes who appear to have turned their backs on the crime of murder,” said survivor Tim Frolich, who was injured in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers.

The LIV Golf series, funded by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, was making its first stop on American soil this week after a debut this month outside of London.

Carlos Ortiz took the lead Thursday with a 5-under 67. Dustin Johnson, the 2020 Masters winner, was a shot back. Pat Perez, Brenden Grace and Hideto Tadihara were two shots off the lead.

The upstart series, fronted by CEO Greg Norman, aims to challenge the PGA Tour and has lured players with big signing bonuses and rich prize purses. But critics call the tour an attempt at “sportswashing” to detract from Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses, including the murder of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

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“These golfers that are getting in bed with the Saudis, they should know what they’re doing. Shame on them. And to the golfers that say it’s just a game of golf: Shame on them,” said Brett Eagleson, the head of the group 9/11 Justice, who lost his father at the World Trade Center. “I invite them to live with the pain in our eyes, hear our stories and walk in our shoes, hear what we have to say about the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

PGA: J.T. Poston shot a 9-under 62 on Thursday to take a two-stroke lead in the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois.

Coming off a second-place tie last week in Connecticut, Poston eagled the par-5 second and had seven birdies in a bogey-free round at TPC Deere Run.

Canadian Michael Gligic was second at 64, playing in the final group of the day off the first tee. Vaughn Taylor and Christopher Gotterup followed at 65. Ricky Barnes, Denny McCarthy, Chris Naegel and Dylan Frittelli shot 66.

Poston won the 2019 Wyndham Championship for his lone PGA Tour title.

Iowa native Zach Johnson, the 2012 winner, opened with a 69 in afternoon wind in his 20th consecutive start in the event.

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Defending champion Lucas Glover shot 74.

EUROPEAN TOUR: Ryan Fox had eight birdies, including seven in his last 11 holes, in a flawless 8-under 64 at Mount Juliet Thursday to find himself leading the Irish Open with a one-shot lead over Frederic Lacroix, Jorge Campillo, Fabrizio Zanotti and Marcel Schneider.

Fox, who lost a playoff for the 2018 Irish Open to Scotland’s Russell Knox, won the Ras Al Khaimah Classic in February, finished runner-up in the Soudal Open and Dutch Open and was third in the BMW International on Sunday.

Three-time major winner Padraig Harrington shot a 2-under 70 just days after his victory in the US Senior Open, while 2019 Open champion Shane Lowry had to settle for a 71.


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