Jay Monahan addressed the media in what has become the tradition for the PGA Tour Commissioner ahead of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass and spent a typically lengthy period giving a sort of ‘state of the nation’ address before opening the floor to questions.
Unsurprisingly, where the negotiations with the PIF stand as professional golf continues to exist in two distinct entities were at the forefront of the minds of the assembled media, and, perhaps sensing that the first question to be posed once the floor had opened would be on the state of the talks for the drawn-out agreement, Monahan pre-emptively discussed the matter.
“Three weeks ago we had our first Policy Board meeting since SSG became an investor,” he explained, following remarks that the investment from Strategic Sports Group and the foundation of PGA Tour Enterprises would “fundamentally transform” the game of golf overall. “The substance of that meeting focused primarily on how we can place our current and future fans at the center of our decision making,” he added.
“We’ve done extensive research with our fans, and what they’re telling us today is simple: They love golf, and they’re loyal to the PGA TOUR. They’re tired of hearing about conflict, money and who is getting what. They want to watch the world’s best golfers compete in tournaments with history, meaning, and legacies on the line at venues they recognize and love.”
One of the primary challenges facing the PGA Tour of late is that it’s become increasingly obvious that while the PGA Tour continues to have the majority of the game’s best players and biggest stars, it’s not quite the monopoly it once was.
“I want to stay focused on where we are and what we are achieving as an organization,” he said, “but I do know everyone is curious about the status of our negotiations with the PIF. As I’ve said on a number of occasions, you can’t negotiate a deal like this in public, so I will be brief.
“I recently met with the governor of the PIF, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, and 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.
“It’s going to take time, but I reiterate what I said at the TOUR Championship in August. I see a positive outcome for the PGA TOUR and the sport as a whole.”
Monahan continued to reiterate his desire to see a positive outcome to the PIF negotiations as several additional questions regarding that came his way, but he declined to provide any additional detail on the state of the talks or what the potential outcome would be should both sides fail to reach an agreement.
He did, however, admit that both SSG representatives and PIF governor Yasir Al Rumayyan and additional PIF representatives had joined Monahan for talks prior to the agreement which saw PGA Tour Enterprises come into being last month.
“As we went through that process, there were a number of potential investors,” he explained. “We made the decision on December 7th as a board unanimously to move forward with SSG. It was important for SSG and it was important for the TOUR to engage directly with the PIF prior to finalizing any deal, which is why I joined principals from SSG on a trip to Saudi Arabia to meet with Yasir and members of PIF, and that’s why we continue to have productive discussions.
“There’s a mutual respect there that I think is helpful towards ultimately getting a deal done, and I think it is that level of discussion that has helped accelerate the conversations.”
Talk of potential paths back to PGA Tour competition for the players who chose to defect to LIV have been met with a wide-ranging array of emotion from PGA Tour members, with Rory McIlroy emerging as the unlikely lead supporter, while Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas were among those who suggested that consequences would be necessary before a welcome back was extended.
“I think when you’re in a negotiation like this and you’re in a time like this, it requires open-mindedness, it requires flexibility, and it requires a long-term view and a long-term vision, and that’s what we continue to try and — we push ourselves to continue for that to be our mindset,” Monahan said when queried about the opposition to a reunification should an agreement with the PIF be met.
“But however we end up, I think that we’re not going to be able to satisfy everyone, and that goes for both sides. But what we’re trying to do is to get to the best possible outcome again for the TOUR and for the game, and I do think that that’s achievable.”
Jon Rahm’s decision to jump ship and join LIV back in December was arguably the most seismic of all the defections that have occurred since LIV’s first event back in June, 2022. Particularly when it was widely believed to have come in a period of ceasefire, and when asked about his reaction to it, Monahan notably declined to use Rahm’s name, instead choosing to restate his prerogative towards the current Tour members.
“I’m focused on every single member of the PGA TOUR,” he said. “I’m focused on THE PLAYERS Championship this week. I’m focused on the great season that we have ahead, and we have made tremendous progress with the SSG agreement that we have, putting ourselves in a position to invest back in our TOUR, invest back in our fans, and I’m going to focus on the things that I control and we are as an organization and we are as a leadership team and we are as a board, so that’s when I’m focused on.”
A follow-up question asked about the possibility of further players opting to make the jump and was met with a stony response, with the PGA Tour Commissioner retorting: “I just answered your question about what my focus is.”
It’s little surprise that he’s not willing to go into specifics about the state of a potential agreement, nor would it be wise to do so given that three years’ worth of grandstanding has been made to look rather foolish as they eventually began negotiating with a body that they’d steadfastly refused to entertain in the past, but that the intent is still to bring the PIF on board and bring some sort of unity back to golf was informative at least.
But there’s still more questions than answers.
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