Jimmy Dunne resigns from PGA Tour policy board claiming 'no meaningful progress' in PIF talks

Prominent investment banker was one of the brokers of framework agreement with Saudi wealth fund

Jimmy Dunne, one of the brokers of the PGA Tour’s framework agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has sensationally resigned from the US circuit’s policy board.

The shock development, which saw Dunne step down from the role with immediate effect, came after he claimed that there had been “no meaningful progress” in the bid to unify golf following it’s much-publicised split since the launch of LIV Golf.

It was Dunne, along with policy board chairman Ed Herlihy and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, who initiated talks with PIF chief Yasir Al-Rumayyan that led to a peace deal being struck out of the blue last June.

Jimmy Dunne pictured testifying during a US Senate hearing examining the business deal between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia's LIV Golf in 2023. Picture: Drew Angerer/Getty Images.

However, his resignation letter offers little confidence that meaningful progress is being made in talks around a framework agreement despite positive noises being made by some about a meeting between the board’s player directors, including 15-time major winner Tiger Woods, and Al-Rumayyan in the Bahamas in March.

“When I arrived on the board in January 2023, everybody involved with the game was concerned about the fundamental threat of LIV Golf,” wrote Dunne, a prominent investment banker who has played in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in the past, in his letter.

“They were successfully luring away some of our top players, including several major champions. It was clear that the fracture would greatly damage our game and the Tour. On top of that, the Tour was engaged in burdensome litigation that was expensive, unwelcome, and uncertain.

“As directed by commissioner Monahan, I engaged LIV’s majority owner, the Public Investment Fund, to see if we could end the lawsuits and reunify the game. Importantly, we were able to come to an agreement in which the lawsuits were dismissed with prejudice and a path was created for the Tour to remain in control of professional golf.

"Since there was no exclusivity clause, the players had a full range of options to seek outside investors. That resulted in a multi-billion-dollar commitment from the Strategic Sports Group. I believe that history will look favorably on this outcome and the very real opportunities now afforded the Tour.”

He went on: “I have not been asked to take part in negotiations with the PIF since June 2023. During my testimony at the Senate hearing, I said it was my intention to cast my vote alongside the player directors if a final agreement was reached with the PIF.

"Since the players now outnumber the independent directors on the board, and no meaningful progress has been made towards a transaction with the PIF, I feel like my vote and my role is utterly superfluous.

“It is crucial for the board to avoid letting yesterday’s differences interfere with today’s decisions, especially when they influence future opportunities for the tour. Unifying professional golf is paramount to restoring fan interest and repairing wounds left from a fractured game. I have tried my best to move all minds in that direction.”