All Access

Media Deals

Media Deals Alerts

Alert

Standard

Media Deals Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

mustard

BFD Expert Voices - Media Deals

BFD Expert Voices

Jimmy Dunne's resignation underscores the shifting winds amid the talks between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

Why it matters: Dunne was one of the key architects of last year's deal that would have ended the PGA Tour's civil war with Saudi-backed LIV.

Catch up quick: The PGA Tour and PIF first agreed to a framework deal last June that would have combined the commercial businesses of the PGA, DP World Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf into a separate entity counting the PIF as minority investors.

Zoom in: The role of the PGA's policy board, where Dunne was a key member, has shrunk during talks with the Saudis ever since the PGA took a $3 billion investment early this year from a U.S.-based consortium of investors led by Fenway Sports Group, a source tells Axios.

The consortium, known as Strategic Sports Group (SSG), is an investment team headed by Fenway Sports Group and includes sports owners such as John Henry (Red Sox) and Steve Cohen (Mets).

As part of the $3 billion deal, SSG became a minority investor in the newly created PGA Tour Enterprises, a for-profit entity that will manage the PGA's commercial business.

That entity is now leading the talks with the Saudis, the source says, with the PGA's policy board taking the back seat.

The move signifies the growing influence that the Enterprises group and Fenway Sports will have in the Tour's future.

Zoom out: Dunne said that he hasn't been asked to help with negotiations for the past 11 months.

"No meaningful progress has been made toward a transaction with PIF," Dunne wrote in his resignation letter to his fellow PGA Tour policy board members, according to Sports Illustrated, which first reported the news.

In confirming Dunne's departure, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan wrote in a memo Monday night that "we continue to make meaningful progress behind the scenes in our negotiations toward a potential agreement with the PIF."

Underscoring that point, the source said that all the player-directors on the PGA policy board have met with PIF's Yasir Al-Rumayyan and that a negotiating team, including Fenway Sports' Henry and PGA board member Tiger Woods, was formed.

What we're watching: Dunne's resignation is the latest dramatic twist for the board. Last week, three player-directors — Patrick Cantlay, Jordan Spieth and Woods — blocked Rory McIlroy from rejoining the board.

Dunne's departure highlights power shift within PGA-Saudi talks

Jimmy Dunne resigning is the latest dramatic twist.

Jimmy Dunne, board member with PGA Tour, during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee hearing in Washington, DC, DC, US, on Tuesday, July 11, 2023.

Jimmy Dunne during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C., on July 11, 2023. Photo: Sara Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Golf

Jimmy Dunne&#x27;s resignation underscores the shifting winds amid the talks between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia&#x27;s Public Investment Fund.Why it matters: Dunne was one of the key architects of last year&#x27;s deal that would have ended the PGA Tour&#x27;s civil war with Saudi-backed LIV.

topics

politics-policy

epstein-files

donald-trump

2026-midterm-elections

immigration

behind-the-curtain

race-and-equity

technology

privacy-tech-regulation

automation-and-ai

tiktok-news

big-tech

social-media

cybersecurity

economy

social-security

inflation

tariffs

federal-reserve

jobs

transportation

business

stock-market-news

retail-news

crypto

media

elon-musk

dealmaking

health

rfk-jr

drug-prices

axios-explains-abortion

public-health

world

israel

axios-explains-ukraine

iran

russia

china

energy-climate

nuclear-energy

climate-energy-policy

climate-change

extreme-weather

alternative-energy

electric-vehicles

science

emerging-tech

biomedicine

newsletters

charlotte

boulder

detroit

kansas-city

columbus

austin

dallas

atlanta

washington-dc

nw-arkansas

chicago

indianapolis

nashville

richmond

colorado-springs

houston

san-francisco

seattle

boston

des-moines

salt-lake-city

philadelphia

denver

phoenix

new-orleans

miami

twin-cities

raleigh

san-antonio

portland

san-diego

tampa-bay

cleveland

huntsville

pittsburgh

axios-local

axios-pro

axios-live

the-axios-show

Dunne's departure highlights power shift within PGA-Saudi talks

What to read next