Monahan message misses the fairway
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Everyone came wanting answers. One of a leader’s primary responsibilities should be providing answers.
Yet Jay Monahan, the commissioner of the PGA Tour — albeit an embattled one — provided few answers during his annual state-ofthe-tour press conference Tuesday in advance of this week’s Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.
If you listen to what Monahan has to say, he would have you believe — despite the splintering of the game due to the presence of LIV Golf — the PGA Tour is as strong as it’s ever been, and that the fans, sponsors and TV partners are all as happy as ever with the product.
Monahan, too, will have you believe the Players Championship remains the crown jewel of the PGA Tour with the best field in the game — though LIV players such as Jon Rahm, who was ranked No. 2 in the world when he jumped to LIV Golf; Brooks Koepka, who’s won five major championships in the past seven years; and Cam Smith, the 2022 Players champion, are not here this week because they’re banned by the PGA Tour.
Monahan, you may recall, blindsided his own players with that announcement last June of a “framework agreement’’ with PIF, the Saudi leaders of LIV who he’d spent the better part of the previous year and a half denouncing as the enemy.
Because of this, he’s a commissioner who’s lost the locker room.
Yet this was one of the few definitive answers Monahan provided on Tuesday when asked if he has the “full confidence of all the players’’ that he’s the “right man to move this deal forward’’ with LIV Golf: “I am the right person to lead us forward. I know that. I believe that in my heart, and I’m determined to do exactly that.’’
About two hours later, Xander Schauffele was asked about the players’ trust in Monahan, and he didn’t mince words with his answer.
“Trust is something that’s pretty tender, so words are words, and I would say in my book he’s got a long way to go,’’ Schauffele said. “He could be the guy, but in my book, he’s got a long way to go to gain the trust of the membership.’’
Patrick Cantlay, who’s a member of the player board, played a game of semantics when asked if he agreed with Monahan’s assertion that he has the confidence of the board and is the right person to lead.
“I think it’s really important that we’re all rowing in the same direction,’’ Cantlay said.
A few minutes later, Cantlay was asked by another reporter if he could clarify his non-answer to the first question about Monahan, asking if he believes Monahan is the right leader for the PGA Tour.
“Yeah, I think it’s very important that we’re all rowing in the same direction, and right now he’s definitely our leader, so it’s important that we’re all doing our best, rowing in the right direction to do what’s best for the membership and the Tour,’’ Cantlay said.
Those words “right now’’ seemed to be as strategically placed in that answer as one of Cantlay’s approach shots into the par-5 16th hole at Sawgrass.
It wasn’t exactly a crackling endorsement of the commissioner, who’s been rightfully criticized for his gross mishandling of the LIV Golf threat — by not taking it seriously from the start then keeping the players in the dark before getting into bed with the Saudi leaders with that “framework agreement’’ announcement.
“Balancing the interests of a membership of 200-plus players is complicated and it’s challenging,’’ Monahan said. “But however we end up, I think that we’re not going to be able to satisfy everyone.’’
A fair question is whether Monahan is satisfying anyone at the moment.
He revealed Tuesday that he made a January trip to Saudi Arabia to meet with governor of the PIF, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, about coming to a “deal’’ with it to merge the PGA Tour and LIV to bring game’s best players back to the same playing field.
“You can’t negotiate a deal like this in public, so I will be brief,’’ Monahan said, setting the tone for the press conference with few pertinent questions answered. “Our negotiations are accelerating as we spend time together. 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.’’
Monahan, of course, declined to share what the “key issues’’ are, or much of anything else.
Tuesday marked just the third time since that “framework agreement’’ announcement that Monahan has spoken to the media. He’d have done himself and his tour a better service had he been at least a little bit more transparent.
Monahan acknowledged fans are “tired of conflict and who is getting what” and that they “want to watch the world’s best golfers compete with history and at venues that they recognize and love,” but he offered little foresight to the pathway to get there.
Everyone came for answers and
got none.