Who in the world is Jimmy Dunne?

In case you hadn’t heard, on June 6 (I call it D-Day for professional golf) the PGA Tour and the Saudi regime struck a deal in which they became partners. Call it “united, a “merger” or “agreement,” it was a shocker to the golfing world. One year ago the LIV golf tour got off the ground, with players who defected from the PGA Tour and the D.P. World Tour, pocketing millions of dollars (even six figures for some), before they even played a golf shot.  The LIV experiment was funded by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, estimated at $750 billion. Of course, the merger news came as a total surprise to everyone, given the animosity between the LIV people and the PGA Tour. The new mega-tour has yet to be named, but the expensive litigation will cease. It seems Greg Norman is out of a job, which makes many folks happy.  

                The individual who brokered the PGA Tour/Saudi deal is none other than Jimmy Dunne. Dunne has been the consummate professional golf insider for many years. “the only way you could get closer to professional golf than Jimmy Dunne is if you were a flagstick,” wrote SI.com.  He was a managing partner in the investment banking firm of Sandler-O’Neill, which had offices on the 104^th floor of the South tower at the World Trade Center on 9/11.  That day Dunne was out of the office and at the golf course trying to qualify for the USGA Mid-Amateur. 68 of his colleagues and co-workers perished in the 9/11 attacks. Subsequently Dunne was able to rebuild Sandler-O’Neill, taking decisive action by paying the salaries and bonuses to families of those who died, and established a foundation which funded college tuition for 76 children of those victims who were killed on 9/11.  Sandler O’Neill grew to become America’s largest independent full-service investment banking firm. It was acquired by Piper Jaffray in 2020 to become Piper Sandler, with whom Dunne is vice chairman and senior managing principle of that firm.

                Dunne is a member of several of the most prestigious golf clubs in America, including Augusta national, Pine Valley (where I once played), national Golf Links on Long island, and he is President of Seminole Golf Club in Florida. From the start Dunne was against the LIV idea.  “I don’t like it when they say they’re ‘growing the game.’ That’s crap. I don’t even like it when they say ‘I have to do what’s best for my family.’ I really wonder how many of those guys, the lifestyle that they were living was so horrible that their family needed them to do this,” Dunne exhorted. From the start he tried to urge PGA Tour players to stay at home and not be enticed by the LIV riches.  Then in 2022 Dunne was appointed to the PGA Tour Policy Board, and one of his primary tasks in that official role was to ensure that more elite players did not leave the PGA Tour for LIV.

                With PGA Tour vs LIV golf two-way litigation pending, with the lengthy discovery process, a trial would not have started until sometime in 2025. With litigation and elevated tournament purses draining PGA reserves, as well as the reticence of the Saudis to open PIF books, something had to be done. On April 8, Jimmy Dunne met secretly in London with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of PIF. In the weeks following PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and Al-Rumayyan had a couple of meetings and rounds of golf. It turns out that the PGA Tour and the Saudi’s shared many interests about the future of professional golf. The Saudi folks desperately longed to be a major player in the sport of golf but were sorely disappointed with the LIV golf model. As to the “merger” agreement it must pass scrutiny by the U.S. judicial and legislative branches of government. One of the issues is whether the PGA Tour will retain its non-profit 501-c(6) status. If not, the billions of donations to charities from tournaments could diminish.

                Although I have not met Jimmy Dunne I do admire him immensely. He is a 1978 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, my alma mater. He has been a trustee of the University since 2010. He has donated over $20 million to the University, and a men’s residence hall bears his name. Jimmy and Susan Dunne are parents of three children who are all graduates of Notre Dame. Dunne delivered the commencement address to the Notre Dame class of 2021, whereupon Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. stated: “At a time when our graduates have had to show remarkable resilience in the face of the adversity of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jimmy is someone who personified resilience in the aftermath of the tragic events 20 years ago.”