Jimmy Dunne, who last year helped negotiate the PGA Tour's controversial framework agreement with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, resigned from the tour's board of directors on Monday.
In Dunne's resignation letter, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN, Dunne wrote that “no significant progress has been made toward a transaction with PIF” and that “my vote and role are completely superfluous” now that the directors of Players outnumber independent directors on the board of directors. Dunne's resignation was effective immediately.
“It is crucial that the Board avoids allowing yesterday's differences to interfere with today's decisions, especially when they influence future opportunities for the tour,” Dunne wrote. “Unifying professional golf is paramount to restoring fan interest and repairing the wounds left by a fractured game. I have done everything I can to move all minds in that direction.”
Along with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, Dunne and political board chairman Ed Herlihy secretly negotiated the framework agreement with the PIF, which finances the rival LIV Golf League. Monahan and PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan announced the agreement on June 6. Most PGA Tour players, including some player managers, were unaware of the deal until it was announced on television.
The framework agreement expired on December 31, but the parties have continued to try to negotiate an agreement. Monahan and player managers, including Tiger Woods, met with Al-Rumayyan in the Bahamas on March 18.
At the Masters in April, Woods said the meeting was productive.
“I don't know if we're any closer, but we're certainly headed in the right direction,” Woods said. “That was a very positive meeting and I think both sides came away from the meeting feeling positive.”
The PGA Tour reached an agreement with Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of billionaire American sports team owners and others, to invest up to $3 billion in PGA Tour Enterprises, a new for-profit entity.
In a memo, obtained by ESPN on Monday night, sent to Tour golfers, Monahan addressed the developments and said: “I would like to thank Jimmy for his steadfast service to this organization since joining the Board in January 2023, not to mention his countless contributions to the game of golf spanning decades.”
Monahan, in the memo, also added: “We continue to make significant progress behind the scenes in our negotiations toward a potential agreement with the PIF. Our goal remains to deliver the best possible outcome for the PGA Tour, our players, partners, tournaments and fans.” , before concluding that “out of respect for the PGA Championship, we will not be making any further public comment on this matter.”
Dunne, a Wall Street dealmaker, testified about the potential tour deal with the Saudis before the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on July 11. Monahan was taking a leave of absence for health reasons at the time of the hearing.
Dunne suggested in his resignation letter on Monday that he had been excluded from negotiations with the Saudis. His resignation comes less than a week after PGA Tour star Rory McIlroy told reporters that certain people on the board were “uncomfortable” with him returning to the board.
McIlroy resigned from the political board in November. Players manager Webb Simpson was prepared to resign if McIlroy replaced him to help reach a deal with the Saudis.
In addition to Woods and Simpson, player managers are Patrick Cantlay, Jordan Spieth, Adam Scott and Peter Malnati. Former tour member Joe Ogilvie is a liaison to the board of directors.
On Thursday, the tour announced that former Valero Energy Corp. CEO Joseph W. Gorder had been tapped to serve as inaugural chairman of the PGA Tour Enterprises board of directors and that McIlroy would be part of a transactions committee who would be in charge of the tour negotiations. with the PIF.
Gorder, now executive chairman of Valero Energy's board of directors, will also serve on the transaction committee, along with Fenway Sports Group founder and principal owner John W. Henry, Monahan, Scott, Woods, McIlroy and Ogilvie.
Dunne and Herlihy were left off the transactions committee.
“Players have lost trust in the board due to secret agreements and governance,” a PGA Tour insider, who is not authorized to speak formally about the situation, told ESPN on Monday. “The more players get involved, the more they realize that things are not being run the way they want, from the top down. The players have told the rest of the board that they want to run it and they don't trust the board. When you lose the faith in the boss, none of the players will pay attention to you again.”
Dunne did not respond to ESPN's request for comment.
