Reports: PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan Grilled by ‘Very Angry’ Golfers in Meeting with Players

It was clear moments after the bombshell announcement that the PGA Tour would be joining forces with LIV Golf (more accurately, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund) that golfers on tour were blindsided and generally not happy.

I love finding out morning news on Twitter

— Collin Morikawa (@collin_morikawa) June 6, 2023

Nothing like finding out through Twitter that we’re merging with a tour that we said we’d never do that with.

— Mackenzie Hughes (@MacHughesGolf) June 6, 2023

Tell me why Jay Monahan basically got a promotion to CEO of all golf in the world by going back on everything he said the past 2 years. The hypocrisy. Wish golf worked like that. I guess money always wins @PGATOUR

— Dylan Wu (@dylan_wu59) June 6, 2023

When it was announced that PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan would hold a meeting with players who are entered in this week’s RBC Canadian Open in Toronto on Tuesday afternoon, one could confidently predict that the meeting would not be a friendly gathering.

According to reports from both players and those who had access to the meeting, “contentious” seems to be the most-used word to describe the meeting. A lack of trust from the players toward Monahan was also a consistent theme.

One anonymous player told Golf Channel:

“The sentiment in the room was pretty somber, and Jay was definitely getting attacked. He handled it OK, but there were times where he could’ve been more accepting and put himself in our shoes more. He was like, ‘I’m doing this for the betterment of the Tour, guys, can’t you see this?’”

“Everybody’s like, ‘Jay, stop saying, we! We don’t know s— about what going on! You just dropped this on us!’”

Inside the ‘contentious’ Toronto meeting as Jay Monahan faced players: https://t.co/fiHA9m0Tzd pic.twitter.com/4KzZEeIm4N

— Golf Central (@GolfCentral) June 7, 2023

Monahan explained to the players that the merger was necessary to end the lawsuits between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf (again, the PIF). He also explained that LIV players won’t be back on the PGA Tour this year as they figure out a reinstatement process and reiterated that the deal is just in the framework stage and not finalized.

Among the 30 or so players who spoke up, reports state that the most vocal included Mackenzie Hughes, Maverick McNealy, Brandt Snedeker, and Shane Lowry. Rory McIlroy—who was among the most vocal critics of LIV until saying at the PGA Championship last month that he was done talking about it—was largely quiet.

Matt Kuchar was said to be among the few positive voices, saying that he was pleased that the PGA Tour will become more of a world tour.

Geoff Ogilvy was one of the few players who spoke on the record after the meeting.

Ogilvy told reporters

“I’m glad I wasn’t Jay today. There’s some grumpy players in there. I feel a little bit sort of, I’m not lied to, but just that the Tour has sort of changed its position quickly and dropped it on us really fast. So, maybe there’s a feeling of a lack of trust a little bit in the leadership. … It just feels like nobody really knows what’s happening and the players are out of the loop. But no one really ever likes being out of a loop. You know, everyone likes bit of information, and especially when it’s your livelihood and your job and the sport that you love.”

Aside from giving players a chance to vent, no real new information came from the meeting. It certainly makes the days leading up to next week’s U.S. Open more interesting, as we will surely hear from top players on both the PGA Tour and LIV circuit.

Cover Image Via ESPN