Monahan short on details on deal
Chief says golf is in good place
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan was short on details but overflowing with confidence Tuesday about the future of the PGA Tour, repairing the fractured landscape of golf and his ability to lead the way.
“I am the right person to lead us forward. I know that,” Monahan said at The Players Championship. “I believe that in my heart, and I’m determined to do exactly that.”
Where it leads remains a mystery. Monahan said at the onset of his news conference that while negotiations with the Saudi backers of
LIV Golf are “accelerating,” they had to remain private.
“While we have several key issues that we still need to work through, we have a shared vision to quiet the noise and unlock golf ’s worldwide potential,” he said.
What he offered was hope for a successful outcome with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which announced an agreement on June 6 to partner with the PGA Tour in a commercial investment venture eventually called PGA Tour Enterprises.
“I do believe that negotiating a deal with PIF is the best outcome,” Monahan said. “Obviously it has to be the right deal for both sides, like any situation or negotiation.”
Among the sticking points, which Monahan declined to discuss, is how to bring the players back together when so many of them defected from the PGA Tour to sign lucrative signing bonuses.
Most PGA Tour players believe LIV players should not be allowed back without some penalty.
Meanwhile, golf marches on with divided tours.
“When you step back from it and you just look at where we are … with the game booming, becoming cooler, becoming more mainstream, it’s truly global,” Monahan said. “There are a finite number of athletes, and this is a unique point in time where unification ultimately puts the sport in the best possible position to take advantage of this growth on a go-forward basis.”
Because of the surprise nature of the deal in June — some players learned about it from social media — Monahan spoke last summer about having to regain trust of the players.
When asked if anyone on the board — six player-directors or the independent directors — had asked for his resignation, Monahan said only there has been “good, spirited debate” among the board.
“But we are a united front,” he said.