The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship promises to be a memorable occasion with some of the world's best players and a host of amateurs, including celebrities, teeing it up at the DP World Tour event.
However, there is even more intrigue at the Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and Old Course, St Andrews event this year with confirmation that PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and Saudi Public Investment (PIF) governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan will not only both play at the event, they have been paired together.
In the unique event, which sees each professional paired with an amateur, Monahan is alongside PGA Tour pro Billy Horschel, while Al-Rumayyan is with LIV golfer Dean Burmester. However, they each tee it up for the first round at 4.00am ET (9.00am BST) from the 10th tee at Carnoustie.
Al-Rumayyan will then be paired with luxury goods company Richemont's head Johann Rupert, who oversees the event, in round two, while Monahan tees it up with Rory McIlroy, before the PIF governor plays with the influential McIlroy in the third round while Monahan is alongside Rupert.
This will be Al-Rumayyan's second successive appearance at the tournament, albeit at last year's event, he appeared under the pseudonym Andrew Waterman. On that occasion, he played alongside The R&A CEO Martin Slumbers, although the fact that this time around he is paired with Monahan is surely even more significant.
Both Monahan and Al-Rumayyan, along with DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings, who will also be in attendance, are pivotal in the struggle to reunite the top of the men’s elite game.
Talks between the PGA Tour and the PIF have been ongoing for well over a year, with the initial announcement that the three organizations had come to the table having been made on 6 June 2023.
Since then, progress has been slow, although there have been encouraging signs along the way that a breakthrough could be made. The latest official word came in August when Monahan admitted talks were “complex” but that there was “optimism about the future and our ability to come together.”
That sentiment appeared to be given more credence the following month when it was reported that one of the most influential PGA Tour players and current Player Director, Tiger Woods, had flown into New York for further talks with the PIF.
Since then, reports have suggested that the money players were paid to join LIV Golf is a sticking point in their possible return to the PGA Tour, although nothing official has suggested the talks have hit problems.
It was also confirmed last month that the DP World Tour had rejected an offer from LIV Golf to pay the outstanding fines of its players. The DP World Tour told Golf Monthly at the time: “We met with them and listened to their proposal but did not accept it, as our view remains that the focus should continue to be on all stakeholders working together to reach an overall solution that benefits our sport."
Meanwhile, another sign of thawing tensions between the more established tours and LIV Golf is the fact that 14 of the field is made up of its players, some of whom are appearing thanks to invites from the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship Committee run by Richemont, which is headed by Rupert.
While there is anticipation for the action that unfolds between the professionals and amateurs this week, the presence of Monahan and Al-Rumayyan, along with Kinnings, is likely to ensure that, regardless of the outcome of the event, much of the attention will be on any further updates on the progress of the negotiations.
