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Trio of major champions connected to Panama Papers, per report

A trio of major champions have reportedly been connected to the so-called Panama Papers and the creation of offshore accounts to handle their wealth.

Padraig Harrington, Retief Goosen and Ian Woosnam are reportedly named in the trove of documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca which details how the world's wealthy spread their money out of the reach of governments which aim to collect taxes on their earnings.

The Irish Times reports the three players, which have six majors between them, asked their management firm, IMG, to create these accounts. The law firm, which claims the documents were stolen from them in a hacking attack, was the registered agent for the three golfers as it relates to a Panamanian company called Marksmen Guaranteed Fund V SA. The golfers were recorded as having attended the company's 2000 annual meeting by proxy.

Harrington has won three major championships, including the British Open in 2007 and '08 and the 2008 PGA Championship. Retief Goosen won the 2001 and '04 U.S. Opens. Ian Woosnam won the 1991 Masters and, after missing the cut at Augusta National in April, announced he was walking away from the competition.


Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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