On Wednesday, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan expressed regret over how the LIV Golf-PGA Tour merger was handled.
Monahan spoke publicly and candidly for the first time since his abrupt exit from his position as Tour commissioner in June. After explaining the reasoning behind his absence, the discussion shifted to the controversial merger with the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf Tour. While Monahan didn’t appear to renege or express a desire to renege off that deal, he did say he regretted one thing.
Golf Digest wrote, “Monahan said one of his biggest goals now that he has returned is regaining the trust of the players… He acknowledged that it was an ineffective rollout and said that he has suffered ‘a setback’ in his relations with the players. He said his biggest regret ‘was not being more patient ont he night of June 5th.’ Instead, he would have first flown to Toronto to address the players directly at the RBC Canadian Open.”
Monahan said, via Golf Digest, “It was ineffective. And as a result, there was a lot of misinformation. I think anytime you have the misinformation that can lead to mistrust, and that’s my responsibility. …. As I’ve said, I take full accountability for that.
“At the same time, I apologize for putting the players on their back foot,” Monahan said. He did say after that, “Ultimately, the move that we made is the right move for the PGA Tour. I firmly believe that. Anda s we go forward, time will bear that out.”
Time will also tell to see if Monahan can regain the PGA Tour players’ trust.
