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PGA Tour players who remained will get extra benefit after LIV merger: Jimmy Dunne

Jimmy Dunne put his cards on the table Friday about one of his plans for the PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger.

Dunne, a PGA Tour board member who has been credited with brokering the deal to merge the two sides, said those who remained loyal to the PGA Tour would receive shares in the new venture, he told ESPN.

However, he could not say the same for those who left the PGA to play for LIV Golf.

Dunne explained that players moving to LIV would not be eligible to participate in the plan.

LIV Golf, financed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund and led by Greg Norman, had lured some of the top names in golf last year, including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.

“The new [company] would grow, and the [current PGA Tour] players would get a piece of equity that would enhance and increase in value as time went on,” Dunne said to ESPN.

“There would have to be some kind of formulaic decision on how to do that. It would be a process to determine what would be a fair mechanism that would be really beneficial to our players.”

Jimmy Dunne tees off on the 18th hole during a practice round prior to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Getty Images

The two rival tours surprisingly merged this week and will also combine with the European DP World Tour.

Friday’s interview wasn’t the only time Dunne spoke this week about the new pairing.

On Thursday, Dunne threatened to “kill” if he finds evidence that any of the Saudi Arabia nationals he was involved in negotiations with had a role in planning the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Dunne worked on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center at investment bank Sandler O’Neill, according to Sports Illustrated, but was out of the office while playing at a golf tournament on that tragic day.

“Every day, the first thing that I think about is [Sept. 11]; several times during the day, I think about it; and the last thing I think about at night is that,” Dunne said.

Everything to know about the PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger

PGA Tour and LIV Golf are ending a war — by joining forces.

The two golf leagues, along with the European DP World Tour, are merging into one company after a period of fierce rivalry, one where LIV Golf defectors were banned from competing on the Tour.

LIV, financed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund and led by legendary golfer Greg Norman, lured some of the top names in golf last year with reported nine-figure contracts, including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.

Other huge golf names, however, like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, stayed loyal to the Tour, despite being offered a massive amount of money.

Follow The Post’s coverage of the PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger

Norman said last year Woods turned down a payday in the range of $700 million-$800 million to stick with the PGA Tour.

With the merger, the Saudi-backed LIV and the Tour are ending an antitrust battle and agreed to end all litigation between the two sides.

“After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement. “This transformational partnership recognizes the immeasurable strength of the PGA TOUR’s history, legacy and pro-competitive model.”

“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.

“I understand that. And I am quite certain — and I have had conversations with a lot of very knowledgeable people — that the people I’m dealing with had nothing to do with it. And if someone can find someone that unequivocally was involved with it, I’ll kill them myself. We don’t have to wait around.”

Families of 9/11 victims told The Post this week that they felt “completely betrayed” by PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan after the merger was announced.