10 key revelations from the PGA Tour-LIV Golf Senate hearing

A 276-page document produced by a US Senate Subcommittee revealed a host of new revelations that shocked the golf world. Matt Chivers takes you through the most significant ones…

Professional golf entered the realm of the US Senate on Tuesday as PGA Tour Chief Operating Officer Ron Price and board member Jimmy Dunne appeared before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

Along with the PGA Tour hearing, the Permanent Subcommittee released a 276-page document on the preliminary information of the agreement between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund.

This document has brought new information to light that has stunned the golf world, while also including features there were part of the original framework agreement that was previously leaked.

We have picked out 10 key takeaways from the document that shows how the negotiations between the tour and the PIF came about, and the eye-opening list of proposals that are part of the document.

First contact was made in December, 2022

On December 8, 2022, British businessman Roger Devlin emailed Jimmy Dunne to say he’d been invited by the top PIF official to help in resolving the issues between the PGA Tour and the PIF.

Governor Yasir Al-Rummayan and advisor Amanda Staveley invited Devlin to make contact.

Dunne rejected the chance to talk at the time, but Devlin made contact again in April, 2023.

Al-Rumayyan and Jimmy Dunne met for the first time in person in April

Al-Rumayyan and Dunne met in person in London from April 23 to 24 to open discussions on a deal between the PGA Tour and the PIF.

They were also joined by PGA Tour Policy Board chairman Ed Herhily, Mohannad S. Alblehed and Brian Gillespie of the PIF, Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi of PCP Capital Partners, Michael Klein of M. Klein and Co. and other PIF representatives.

There were three in-person meetings

The Subcommittee revealed the exact dates of the three in-person meetings that took place after Dunne and Al-Rumayyan met in London at the end of April.

May 11-12, Venice: (PGA Tour) Jay Monahan, Jimmy Dunne, Ed Herhily, (PIF) Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Mohannad S. Alblehed, Brian Gillespie, (PCP) Amanda Staveley, Mehrdad Ghodoussi, (M. Klein and Co.) Michael Klein

May 28-30, San Francisco: (PGA Tour) Jay Monahan, Jimmy Dunne, Ed Herhily, John Wolf, (PIF) Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Mohannad S. Alblehed, Brian Gillespie, (PCP) Amanda Staveley, Mehrdad Ghodoussi, (M. Klein and Co.) Michael Klein, (DP World Tour) Keith Pelley

June 5-6, New York: (PGA Tour) Jay Monahan, Jimmy Dunne, Ed Herhily, John Wolf, Laura Neal, (PIF) Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Kevin Foster, (Teneo) Stephen Cohen

“The Best of Both Worlds” slideshow

On April 26, PCP Capital Partners presented a slideshow to Dunne and Herhily of the PGA Tour with a number of stunning proposals that could be part of the long-term agreement between the PGA Tour and the PIF.

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy to own LIV Golf teams

It was proposed as part of this slideshow that Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy would own LIV Golf teams and participate in at least 10 LIV Golf events.

After undergoing surgery following his withdrawal from the Masters, Woods has no confirmed return date to professional golf yet.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan to be a member of Augusta National Golf Club and the R&A

The Best of Both Worlds presentation also proposed Al-Rumayyan to become a member of Augusta National and the R&A, as well as a director of the International Golf Federation.

LIV would also review its senior management team and board composition as part of this proposal.

Huge benefits for LIV Golf players

The presentation suggested LIV Golf players would have full playing rights on the PGA Tour, and they would receive Official World Golf Ranking points in the 2023/2024 season and retrospectively from the 2022/2023 season.

It was suggested LIV players would have “unfettered access” to major championships per normal qualifying criteria and their Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup rights would be restored.

Jay Monahan was to break it to Woods and McIlroy

On June 2, an email indicated PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan had hoped to see Woods and McIlroy in person before the announcement of the framework agreement on June 6.

Other documents suggest Monahan was scheduled to call Woods and McIlroy on the day it was announced, as well as contacting other major sponsors and broadcast partners too.

A suggested World Golf Series concluding in Saudi Arabia

The framework agreement supposedly came together within a few weeks and one key term deliberated was a global team World Golf Series Event finishing in Saudi Arabia.

This didn’t make it into the framework agreement that came together after eight drafts exchanged between May 16 and May 30.

Greg Norman’s dismissal

PGA Tour officials requested a side agreement that LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman would not be retained by LIV.

Upon execution of the framework agreement, Norman and Performance54’s dismissal would occur on a specific date.

However, Monahan’s draft talking points to the PGA Tour policy board on June 4 noted Norman would be reassigned to an advisory role determined by the PIF “when the PGA Tour becomes the manager of the LIV Tour.”

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