It started with a WhatsApp.
No legal teams. No press releases. Just one message, from a man named Jimmy Dunne to Yasir Al-Rumayyan — the governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and the most powerful figure behind LIV Golf.
“Yasir, my name is Jimmy Dunne. I’m a member of the Tour policy board. I’d like the opportunity for a call and, hopefully, a visit.”
That message cracked open the door to a deal that would stun the world, enrage players, and leave the future of men’s professional golf teetering between revolution and collapse. What followed over the next 48 days wasn’t a merger. It was a secret scramble for survival — played out in London backrooms, Venetian weddings, and late-night hotel suites in San Francisco.
And no one — not even the players who built the tours — saw it coming.
The London Meeting That Didn’t Feel Real
April 24, 2023. Less than a week after Dunne’s message, a face-to-face meeting was arranged between Dunne, PGA Tour board chairman Ed Herlihy, and Yasir Al-Rumayyan.
No NDAs. No lawyers. Just a handshake and cigars.
That meeting at London’s Beaverbrook Golf Club flipped the entire narrative. LIV wasn’t there to wage war anymore. They showed up with a PowerPoint deck titled The Best of Both Worlds and an offer that felt surreal: we’ll drop every lawsuit — win or lose — no strings attached.
They weren’t bluffing. LIV Golf wanted peace. But it came with a vision: Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods owning LIV teams, PGA Tour events rebranded under Saudi sponsors, and a globe-spanning super tournament mixing PGA, LIV, and LPGA players.
Also on the wish list? Membership for Al-Rumayyan at Augusta and St. Andrews.
A Wedding, a Commissioner, and a New Chapter
If the London meeting was a spark, Venice was the kindling. In mid-May 2023, Herlihy flew to Italy to attend the wedding of billionaire Lawrence Stroll’s daughter. Yasir was there too. And so was PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan.
The wedding provided a quiet setting for a two-hour one-on-one between Monahan and Al-Rumayyan — their first real conversation. What they discussed wasn’t flashy. Monahan laid out six key principles for keeping the PGA Tour “not-for-profit, with for-profit streams.”
Translation? We’ll take the money, but we’re not letting go.
San Francisco: The Toast at Sunrise
Memorial Day Weekend. Four Seasons Hotel. San Francisco.
What began as secret calls turned into an all-nighter of bargaining and revisions. By the early morning hours of May 30, a six-page Framework Agreement was signed.
The handshake sealed something nobody thought possible: the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and the DP World Tour agreeing — on paper — to operate under one commercial entity, ominously dubbed “NewCo.”
Highlights of the deal?
- The PGA Tour would stay in charge of competition.
- LIV Golf’s future would be evaluated (but not guaranteed).
- All litigation? Gone.
- Official World Golf Ranking points for LIV events? They’d work on it.
The champagne wasn’t even warm before the shockwave hit.
The Announcement Heard Round the World
June 6, 2023. CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.”
Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan sat side by side — smiling, comfortable, and composed. They casually unveiled the biggest pivot in golf history.
No media leaks. No player heads-up. Just a televised blindside.
“This is a historical day for the PGA Tour and the game of golf,” Monahan said. “We’re creating a for-profit, LLC that the PIF is going to invest in.”
To most of the world, it looked like peace. But inside the ropes, it felt like betrayal.
The Player Revolt
By the time players heard the news, Twitter already knew.
Later that day, roughly 100 PGA Tour pros packed into a tense meeting at Oakdale Golf & Country Club. Commissioner Monahan walked into a lion’s den.
The room was described as 90% against the deal. At least 30 players spoke. Security stood outside.
At one point, Grayson Murray exploded:
“We don’t trust you, Jay. You lied to our face.”
Rory McIlroy fired back:
“Just play better, Grayson.”
To which Murray replied:
“F— off.”
The standing ovation wasn’t for Monahan. It was for the idea of replacing him.
The Deal That Never Happened
Despite the big smiles and bolder headlines, that deal? It never closed.
The December 31, 2023 deadline came and went. So did every extension. Jimmy Dunne — the man who started it all — eventually resigned in May 2024, calling his role “utterly superfluous.”
By 2025, the PGA Tour had pivoted again. Players gained more control over governance. A new policy board — six players, five suits — gave athletes the final say. Player power had never been stronger.
As for the original plan to unify professional golf under one umbrella? Still just a dream.
So… What Actually Changed?
Everything. And nothing.
Those meetings reshaped the power structure of men’s golf — not by merging leagues, but by showing players just how far they’d been left out. The anger wasn’t just about Saudi money. It was about trust, transparency, and who really controls the game.
Golf may not be unified yet. But it’s no longer naive.
Deals now need daylight. Players now expect a seat at the table. And behind every press release, there’s a generation of golfers who remember what it felt like to be left in the dark.
The LIV meeting changed everything — just not in the way they expected.
“We don’t trust you, Jay. You lied to our face.” — Grayson Murray
