Jimmy Dunne, the Wall Street deal maker who helped architect the PGA Tour’s controversial deal with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund last summer resigned from the Tour’s Policy Board on Monday. Dunne informed his fellow board members in a letter sent at 5 p.m.
In a call with Golfweek, Dunne explained his decision. “There’s a group that decides things and I’m not in it and I’m not consulted,” he said, referring to the board of the new for-profit entity, PGA Tour Enterprises. “I’m superfluous. It’s time to move on.”
Dunne joined the Policy Board in January 2023 at the request of Commissioner Jay Monahan. Six months later, on June 6, the Tour announced a shocking Framework Agreement with the Saudis, who have been funding the LIV Golf circuit. The deal was forged in a series of top-secret meetings involving Dunne, Monahan and board chairman Ed Herlihy.
Letter from Jimmy Dunne, who resigned from the PGA Tour Policy Board, said his role had become "utterly superfluous." pic.twitter.com/lTznAjTRbT
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Dunne later testified before a Senate subcommittee about the deal when Monahan was on a leave of absence from the Tour.
“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,” Dunne wrote in his letter. “I believe that history will look favorably on this outcome and the very real opportunities now afforded the Tour.”
The backlash to the deal and the secrecy surrounding it has been intense among some players for almost a year, including several who sit on the Policy Board.
Dunne said his resignation is effective immediately. “I wish everyone the best,” he said.