PGA chief makes wild ‘kill them myself’ 9/11 comment in defence of LIV golf deal

A key player behind the controversial merger of the PGA Tour with LIV Golf has used his own experiences to try and unify the opposing parties. But bizarrely, he then claimed that if anyone could prove that one of LIV’s Saudi backers was involved in the 9/11 attacks he would “kill them myself”.

It has been a never-to-be-forgotten week for the world of golf after an announcement was made on Tuesday declaring that the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf had agreed to merge into one unified entity.

With the PGA Tour and breakaway tour LIV Golf having been locked in a litigation battle and war of words for months, the truce has stunned fans and players alike, with none of the PGA’s registered competitors even aware that an agreement had been reached until the official announcement.

Jimmy Dunne, an independent director for the PGA Tour Board, is understood to have played a key role in negotiations with LIV Golf’s Saudi Arabian funders, Public Investment Fund (PIF) and according to the Independent, helped persuade PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monaghan to consider a deal.

Much criticism has been levelled at PGA Tour chiefs for effectively back-tracking on their original opposition to LIV, but Dunn has called on the rival parties to unite.

Speaking to the Golf Channel, he said: “The reality is that we need to come together as people. We have too much divisiveness. At some point in time – whether it’s our view of the Japanese or our view of the Germans – there is a point in time where you have to say, let’s try to get to know one another. Let’s try to understand, let’s try to demonstrate by example.”

Involvement of Saudi Money in golf has led to criticism of the country’s human rights record and claims of sports washing and connections to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. One group representing families of the victims has accused the PGA Tour of “hypocrisy” and “greed” since the merger announcement was made.

But Dunne’s own company was housed in the World Trade Centre and lost 66 of its employees on the day of the attack. The 65-year-old would have been in the building himself had he not been playing in a golf tournament on the same day.

Dunne said: “Every day, the first thing I think about is [September 11]. Several times during the day I think about it and the last thing I think about at night is that. That has not changed since that day. And I’m not alone in that.

“I would guarantee that every one of those family members has that same condition. It is just a reality of how unbelievably sad and awful that day was.

But in a twist to his message of unity, he added: “I’m quite certain – and I’ve had conversations with a lot of very knowledgeable people – that the people I’m dealing with had nothing to do with 9/11. If someone can find someone who unequivocally was involved with it, I’ll kill them myself. We don’t have to wait around.”