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Jimmy Dunne, the PGA Tour board member who brokered the deal with the PIF, divulged unknown details that will make tour players smile.
Earlier this week, the PGA Tour announced a deal with the Saudi’s Public Investment Fund and the DP World Tour, to the shock and astonishment of many. Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour Commissioner, said afterwards that tour players that had remained loyal and not left for LIV Golf would be “rewarded.”
However, it was unclear if that was true and if so, what that meant.
On Friday, PGA Tour board member Jimmy Dunne spoke with ESPN and detailed what those rewards would be.
“The new [company] would grow, and the [current PGA Tour] players would get a piece of equity that would enhance and increase in value as time went on,” Dunne said.
“There would have to be some kind of formulaic decision on how to do that. It would be a process to determine what would be a fair mechanism that would be really beneficial to our players.”
Conversely, Dunne stated that players that left for the rival LIV Golf tour would not be eligible for equity in the new founded company. The PGA Tour has been a non-profit organization throughout its history, and the initial press release made it sound as though that would remain the case.
However, the newly formed, unnamed company comprised of the three entities, is a for-profit organization. That allows players to earn equity, albeit how much is unclear.
Dunne was centrally involved in brokering the deal with the PIF. So, he has first hand knowledge of the conversations and developments. However, it is interesting to note that while PGA Tour players were calling for Monahan’s resignation after the news broke, it would have made sense for this information to be released at that point.
Nonetheless, not only are LIV golfers ineligible for equity, but there will be other punishments as well.
According to Dunne, a panel of PGA Tour players and administrators will decide on a case-by-case basis what further punishment will be. Many LIV golfers including Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau had open lawsuits against the PGA Tour and could face tougher penalties.
If that panel consists of Rory McIlroy, you figure financial retribution could be stiff. He has openly spoken about his hatred for LIV Golf, and was practically made to look like a fool with the latest news.
