WASHINGTON — Documents released by a Senate subcommittee Tuesday contain new details about how the framework deal between the PGA Tour and Saudi-funded LIV Golf came together – as well as the roles that LIV hoped Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods would fill under the new combined entity.
At a meeting in London on April 24, representatives for LIV Golf gave a presentation to PGA Tour board members Jimmy Dunne and Ed Herlihy titled “The Best of Both Worlds.” In the presentation, which was also later distributed via email, LIV listed several “proposals for consideration” – the first of which stated that Woods and McIlroy should own LIV teams and play “in at least … 10 LIV events.”
“This and the participation of other leading players is subject to further discussions,” the document stated.
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Among the other proposals submitted by LIV in the April presentation:
- The creation of a “large-scale superstar LIV style team global event” with PGA, LIV and LPGA players to take place in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, with teams to be drafted live in a televised event.
- Branding at least two of the PGA Tour’s “elevated events” under the flag of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and/or Aramco, its state-run oil company.
- Membership for PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan at two of the sport’s most prestigious institutions: Augusta National Golf Club and The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.
It is immediately unclear whether any of the proposals received additional consideration after that initial meeting.
The April presentation is part of a trove of documents obtained by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and entered into the Congressional record in a memo by its chair, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), during a hearing Tuesday.
The memo also includes email and WhatsApp exchanges, promotional materials and information about the PIF, a timeline of meetings between PGA and LIV officials, the full text of at least eight different drafts of the framework agreement, and the official PGA Tour talking points ahead of its announcement early last month.
Here are some of the other key takeaways from the documents:
First contact
Dunne, a member of the PGA Tour’s policy board, told USA TODAY Sports last month that he first contacted Al-Rumayyan via WhatsApp in April to explore a possible truce between the golf entities.
But the documents released Tuesday indicate that Dunne was courted himself months earlier by an intermediary: British businessman Roger Devlin.
“I am writing to you in the strictest confidence,” Devlin wrote to Dunne on Dec. 8, before making his case.
Devlin, who is the chairman of British housebuilding company Persimmon plc, wrote that he had been invited by Al-Rumayyan and Amanda Staveley to “help find a solution” to the PGA-LIV conflict. Staveley, a British businesswoman, helped orchestrate PIF’s purchase of English soccer team Newcastle United and remains a director at the club.
Dunne wrote back a few days later that he would prefer to get to know Devlin over coffee before discussing anything specific or business-related. He suggested they try to meet in the new year.
When Devlin followed up on Jan. 3, he told Dunne the Saudis were increasingly confident they could outlast the PGA Tour due to their financial resources. Dunne replied that he didn’t want to meet with Devlin “at this time.” Devlin then circled back in mid-April.
“As a dealmaker you will appreciate timing is everything,” he told Dunne. “I believe we have a window of opportunity to unify the game over the next couple of months, otherwise I fear the Saudis will doubledown (sic) on their investment and golf will be split asunder in perpetuity.”
It appears from the documents that Dunne did not reply to Devlin’s email, though he messaged Al-Rumayyan directly on WhatsApp four days later.
PGA Tour’s effort to oust Greg Norman
LIV Golf chief executive officer Greg Norman was not involved in the formal rollout of the framework agreement with the PGA Tour and Europe-based DP Tour, and the Senate subcommittee’s documents help explain why.
The documents illustrate an attempt by PGA Tour officials to negotiate the ouster of Norman and Performance54, the consultancy group that has been heavily involved in LIV’s operations. They proposed a side agreement, outside the main deal, that would require Norman to be dismissed by a specific date.
“As of May 25, 2023, drafts of this side agreement were still being exchanged between the parties,” the subcommittee’s memo states. “But the Subcommittee’s inquiry has not yet revealed whether this side agreement was ever executed.”
Norman, the former Australian golfer and two-time major champion, has been the main public face of LIV Golf since its creation last year. The Senate memo also included the previously-known letter Norman sent to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan in February 2022 under the subject line “You Can’t Ban Players From Playing Golf,” which hinted at the potential legal fight that would eventually follow.
Dunne and Herlihy eyeing LIV leadership positions
One of the other interesting finds in the Senate subcommittee memo is an email exchange between Dunne and Herlihy, the influential PGA Tour board members who helped put the deal together.
Herlihy told Dunne on May 15 that he had spoken with Monahan about the possibility of Dunne “overseeing LIV going forward” and “he really liked it.”
“You and me,” Dunne replied.
“Definitely,” Herlihy wrote. “Meant to say both of us.”
Dunne and Herlihy were the only two PGA Tour board members who were mentioned by name in the press release announcing the PGA-LIV deal. The release indicated that both would serve on the board of directors for the new entity that would encompass both golf tours.
“The Subcommitee’s inquiry has not yet revealed whether these PGA Tour officials pursued this idea any further or whether the parties reached any understanding about who may ‘oversee’ LIV Golf going forward,” the memo stated.
