The PGA Tour’s merger with PIF and LIV Golf when announced on June 6, 2023 took the entire golf world by storm. It was brought to everyone’s attention after the amalgamation news went viral that the Tour Commissioner, Jay Monahan had kept the update under the wraps and did not inform anyone. Not even the Tour’s most favorite golfers, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods. The backlash that Monahan received at that time was unmatched. As it turns out, the golf world is not yet done calling him out for keeping things secret!
In a recent appearance on the No Laying Uppodcast, former PGA Tour pro, Ken Green, who is renowned for his candid nature, charged Jay Monahan with the accusations of keeping the pros in dark. He also reflected on the fact that he believes that Monahan’s actions caused a deep sense of betrayal amongst the Tour players such as the Northern Irishman and the Spaniard, Jon Rahm.
According to Green’s claims, Jay Monahan and the PGA Tour board were masterminds of deception and withheld the core information from the players they claim to represent. Emphasizing his point, Green said, “You know, didn’t give them a heads up on the LIV so-called merger and all this…just stabbed Rory in the back because Rory was basically the tour spokesman.“
Green also hinted at McIlroy’s subsequent change of stance towards the Saudi-funded league and said, “He’s gone and done a complete 180.” He claimed McIlroy’s’softened’ stance as evidence of Monahan’s miscalculated tactics. The 4x major winner went from an outright LIV Golf critic to accepting that he was “too judgemental.” The 65-year-old not only spoke about how McIlroy was stabbed but also shared his two cents about Rahm’s $560 million defection.
Rahm, although he never directed any strong criticism towards LIV Golf, never favored the league either! After days of his rumored defection, he announced his move and created havoc in the golf world. One might wonder: why exactly did the reigning Masters champion jump the ship—for money? for a better schedule? No! As per Green, “he (Rahm) didn’t just switch without a reason,” but instead “he made it feel like he got stabbed in the back, and he said, Scr*w you.”
Ken Green said that, for his deceitful move, Monahan should have been fired immediately. Calling the entire“wrong” way the merger was handled a “scam,” the 5x PGA Tour winner was surprised that the commissioner still had the job. He also said that the holistic sport is “just too good a game to be, you know, playing all the shenanigans in the back door.”
Getting critically scrutinized for his decision appears to have become the new norm for Monahan. Even at the latest PGA Tour event, he was booed by the fans when he came forward to present the trophyto Scottie Scheffler.
Jay Monahan often finds himself at the center of criticism
Golfer Jimmy Walker also chose to show disapproval of whatever Monahan had to say. As per Walker, he does not pay much attention to the Commissioner’s words because “he’s full of it.” In his conversation with Bunker, Walker reiterated his stance and said, “They’ve kept us in the dark, and a lot of this has been handled extremely poorly. Do I have any faith in the tour? I don’t know. I really don’t think we’ve got some of the best and brightest working on it.”
On the contrary, according to Monahan, he is the best man to lead the way for the PGA Tour, but not everybody seems to think that way, and some may even believe that he still has “a long way to go.”
Just a day after his announcement, Monahan seemed to have seen the flaws in his methodology. “In allowing confidentiality to prevail, I did not communicate to very important constituents and I regret that. I really do. But as we sit here today, I think it’s important to reiterate that I feel like the move that we’ve made and how we move forward is in the best interest of our sport.” he said to Golf Channel.
With the merger talks still lingering, the final outcome remains to be seen. But for now, all Jay Monahan could do is prove that he truly is the best man to do the job!
