Yasir Al-Rumayyan teed it up in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Thursday at Carnoustie, and did so whilst sporting some Newcastle United merchandise
LIV Golf boss Yasir Al-Rumayyan appeared to break the Carnoustie official dress code during his meeting with PGA Tour chief Jay Monahan at the opening round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Thursday.
Whilst some of the biggest names in the sport are in action on the DP World Tour this week, all eyes have turned to two of the amateur competitors in the Pro-Am event. Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) governor Al-Rumayyan is playing alongside PGA Tour commissioner Monahan, the two men at the centre of the peace deal between the Tour and LIV.
The game of golf has been torn in two for some time on the back of the inception of LIV, after the PGA Tour opted to ban any of its players who made the Saudi switch to the breakaway league.
Following a shock framework agreement announcement last June though, the two sides have been working to come to some resolution, but are yet to finalise a deal. For this week at least, Al-Rumayyan concentration turns to on the golf course rather than off it.
And whilst there has been hostilities between the two sides for some time, the pair have been all smiles during their first round. Al-Rumayyan is also the chairman of Premier League club Newcastle United, and opted to represent The Magpies during his opening round at Carnoustie.
However his choice of clothing does appear to be a violation of Carnoustie’s dress code, which states football tops are not allowed to be worn by those on site. “Golf shirts must be either collared shirts or otherwise recognised golfing attire. T-shirts, football shirts and any shirts carrying slogans, numbers or non-golfing related illustrations, are not permitted,” the dress code reads.
Whilst you could argue that the Saudi boss’ Newcastle attire is in fact a quarter-zip top rather than a jersey, it still appears to fall on the wrong side of the ruling, especially with the inclusion of the club badge which would not doubt fall under the category of ‘non-golfing related illustrations’.
Rule-breaking or not, Al-Rumayyan’s first round alongside Monahan and their pro partners, Dean Burmester and Billy Horschel respectively got underway with a warm embrace, with no signs of animosity on the first tee. As mentioned, the two sides are yet to come to an official agreement to benefit both sides of golf’s recent civil war.
Last month, members of PGA Tour Enterprises and PIF met in New York in a bid to accelerate talks. DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings was also in the room, and recently provided an update. “I’m very hopeful,” he told Sky Sports at the BMW PGA Championship. “I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for the game to come together and become more harmonious and global.
There’s an ongoing process within the US between the PGA Tour and Public Investment Fund, but in the room those discussions are ourselves, DP World Tour and the Strategic Sports Group. I think everyone has the right attitude going into that and doing the right thing for the game and taking it forward. I see it as an opportunity and, hopefully, it will be what’s good for players, fans and everyone else.”
