PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – When PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan was asked if he has the full confidence of the players, he replied that was a question better suited for the players.
So, members of the media did just that.
“I guess we’ll start with the easy ones,” Xander Schauffele said, smiling, when he was asked right off the bat if he was in Monahan’s corner. “Trust is something that’s pretty tender… and I would say in my book he’s got a long way to go… I’m sure he’s got the support of the board… but for me personally he’s got quite a ways to go.”
Schauffele previously has expressed his disappointment with Monahan in the wake of the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund’s June 6 announcement of a framework agreement without telling any of the players. Monahan’s approval rating has been lower than that of the last few presidents of the United States ever since.
Next into the media center was Patrick Cantlay, who sits on the PGA Tour’s Policy Board as a player director, and could have added clarity to a question Monahan had dodged earlier: Had any board member called for his resignation?
“You know, there’s been a lot of good spirited debate amongst our board,” Monahan said.
When Cantlay was asked if Monahan is the best person for the job going forward, his response was lukewarm at best.
“I think it’s very important that we’re all rowing in the same direction, and right now he’s definitely our leader.”
Not a huge vote of confidence.
Patrick Cantlay speaks during a news conference ahead of the 2024 Players Championship on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. (Photo: Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
But on Wednesday, Rory McIlroy, who in the Netflix documentary “Full Swing,” described himself as the closest player on Tour to Monahan, continued to lend his support to the Commish.
“You look at what Jay has done since he took over – the media rights deal, navigating us through COVID, the strategic alliance with the DP World Tour – I would say creating PGA Tour Enterprises, we were just able to accept a billion and a half dollars in the business. People can nitpick and say he didn’t do this right or didn’t do that right, but if you actually step back and look at the bigger picture, I think the PGA Tour is in a far stronger position than when Jay took over,” McIlroy said.
But McIlroy, who left the Policy Board in November, wouldn’t go so far as to say that Monahan’s drop in the popularity poll with players wasn’t unwarranted.
“I think some of the reaction to June 6th was warranted, but I think at this point it’s eight months ago, and we all need to move on,” McIlroy said. “We all need to sort of move forward and try to bring the game back together.”
Count Justin Thomas among the current crop of stars that thinks Monahan has made some savvy moves of late and is winning back the hearts and minds of the players. But he was quick to point out that Monahan’s working as part of a larger group – one that includes new player director Tiger Woods – in the making of the latest deal with Strategic Sports Group.
“I’ve been pleased with all the latest stuff that’s been happening and been going on, and Jay’s been a part of that group, so I think this is a lot bigger than one person sitting there and making all the decisions,” Thomas said.
Monahan’s ability to regain the trust of his constituencies is key to his survival, and the likes of McIlroy, Cantlay, Schauffele and Thomas represent just a slice of the Tour membership and what they envision going forward.
