Monahan on the way out

[Mr.Cleeks]

Interesting. Is this ssg’s doing?

[Ferguson]

Change is good.

Fresh ideas.

New direction.

 

At least that's is what you will hear.

Another retread.  

 

 

[Dave230]

Monahan really handled the LIV stuff abysmally, while picking up $20m a year. Good work if you can get it.

[golfortennis]

1 hour ago, Dave230 said:

Monahan really handled the LIV stuff abysmally, while picking up $20m a year. Good work if you can get it.

 

Makes you wonder if he'd have made $40M if he had handled it well...

[bscinstnct]

Nice move and a logical succession. Jay did a fine job during a fire storm and growing the tours in the overall right direction but..

 

All sports are a “media” business first. Need a media guy to head strategy. 
 

You see even Notre Dames new head of athletics was Chairman of NBC sports.

 

New pga tour guy 

 

 

Edited June 16 by bscinstnct

[WesternRacing]

It was obvious when they announced the Rolapp hire.  One could argue either way on whether Monahan did a good or bad job the last few years, but what became obvious to me was that he should not be the public face of a professional sports league looking to dramatically raise its profile in the marketplace.  He’s awful in front of the microphone or camera; it’s just not his forte.  He’s probably a great back room senior exec, but good public face of the league he certainly is not.

 

Edited June 16 by WesternRacing

[Titleist99]

My understanding is that Rolapp will oversee PGA Tour Enterprise, and Jay Monahan will remain the Commissioner of the PGA Tour.

 

Unless I've missed it, anything to the contrary has not been announced as of 6/16/25.

 

Who are these multiple sources? 😀

[johnseg]

3 hours ago, Dave230 said:

Monahan really handled the LIV stuff abysmally, while picking up $20m a year. Good work if you can get it.

I am not sure how to better handle the LIV thing.

 

A third party came in and tried to take your best players at any cost. PGA was able to maintain most of the talent that they wanted to keep. They raised purses and changed events to better position themselves and did not cave to initial pressure to merge.

 

Now you have an organization that is largely an afterthought that is no real threat to the tour.

 

I would say it turned out pretty good for the PGA Tour.

[Titleist99]

6 minutes ago, johnseg said:

I am not sure how to better handle the LIV thing.

 

A third party came in and tried to take your best players at any cost. PGA was able to maintain most of the talent that they wanted to keep. They raised purses and changed events to better position themselves and did not cave to initial pressure to merge.

 

Now you have an organization that is largely an afterthought that is no real threat to the tour.

 

I would say it turned out pretty good for the PGA Tour.

 

I would agree. Plus, the fact that the valuation of the PGAT has increased dramatically.

[Ferguson]

30 minutes ago, Titleist99 said:

 

 

Who are these multiple sources? 😀

 

Ian Samuels

Rex Corinthian

Mitch Cubase 

Katrina Milsap

Doug Richard 

Ray Daniel

Vic Eustace 

 

[Titleist99]

1 minute ago, Ferguson said:

 

Ian Samuels

Rex Corinthian

Mitch Cubase 

Katrina Milsap

Doug Richard 

Ray Daniel

Vic Eustace 

 

Who are they? Are they on the board?

[Ferguson]

1 minute ago, Titleist99 said:

Who are they? Are they on the board?

 

Existing and former PGA brass. 

[Titleist99]

4 minutes ago, Ferguson said:

 

Existing and former PGA brass. 

 

Jay Monahan reports to the PGA Tour policy board, which consists of 6 player Directors, 5 independent Directors, and the PGA of America Director.

 

Are any of the brass you mentioned on this list?

[Socrates]

It's the way business is done.  Very rarely does anyone that high up want to stay in a position for more than a couple of years.  Do a job.  Find another job that will pay you more money.  Leave all the baggage behind.

[Valtiel]

41 minutes ago, johnseg said:

They raised purses and changed events to better position themselves and did not cave to initial pressure to merge.

That was the interesting political angle that was leveraged as well, which LIV did quite a lot of:

1) Phil makes claims about the Tour hoarding massive amounts of money and resources that should be in the hands of players
2) The Tour is forced to inject more money into purses/events in order to stay competitive
3) Claim victory by using the events of #2 to prove #1 was accurate

The one thing you can (dubiously) give LIV credit for is they played a savvy and manipulative political game initially by painting Monahan as the bad guy. I asked a friend who always seems to only know the headlines when it comes to issues like this what he thought about LIV, literally all he had to say was anti-Monahan talking points seeded by LIV and it's mouthpieces. When it's one dude from Massachusetts versus the Saudi Royal family + PIF, it takes a LOT of spin to make the former the antagonist.   

 

[cardia10]

Jay listened to a handful of top 10 players and forgot there were about 190 more that drove market share on tour. One specifically who attempted to push Jay's message has now (according to a couple players in meetings) has lost all trust and friendship on tour. Maybe that's why he has been avoiding the media so much. The LIV deal was handled abysmally as Greg Norman has discussed this at length for the last few years about how to keep players happy yet was ignored by Monahan. I think the players clearly saw his intent as he tried to push caddies away from any type of benefits, said LIV guys hadn't asked for proper releases (while Tiger and Rory NEVER got formal releases to take Dubai's yearly million for teeing it up) then blamed the players themselves instead of looking internally at the tour's lack of support for the players, other than the top handful of guys.

Edited June 16 by cardia10

[MattyO1984]

I am not sure that there will be many, if any, tears over the departure of Jay from the PGA Tour.

 

His job was a heck of a lot harder than that which was enjoyed by his predecessor however, how he has been able to stay in the role that has had, for as long as he has, is beyond me. He must have some skills, some intelligence but it has been very hard to say exactly what. 

Edited June 16 by MattyO1984

[Titleist99]

10 minutes ago, MattyO1984 said:

I am not sure that there will be many, if any, tears over the departure of Jay from the PGA Tour.

 

His job was a heck of a lot harder than that which was enjoyed by his predecessor however, how he has been able to stay in the role that has had, for as long as he has is beyond me. He must have some skills, some intelligence but it has been very hard to say exactly what. 

LOL! .....Yet after his abysmal handling of the Saudis takeover of the PGAT and his laughable framework agreement (according to some) Jay managed to receive a significant salary increase in 2023, total of $23M, increase from $18M in 2022.

 

Despite all this, Jay keeps his job, wow! Keep up the bad work, Jay.

 

*Seriously, though, Jay must be doing something right.

[johnseg]

26 minutes ago, Valtiel said:

That was the interesting political angle that was leveraged as well, which LIV did quite a lot of:

1) Phil makes claims about the Tour hoarding massive amounts of money and resources that should be in the hands of players
2) The Tour is forced to inject more money into purses/events in order to stay competitive
3) Claim victory by using the events of #2 to prove #1 was accurate

The one thing you can (dubiously) give LIV credit for is they played a savvy and manipulative political game initially by painting Monahan as the bad guy. I asked a friend who always seems to only know the headlines when it comes to issues like this what he thought about LIV, literally all he had to say was anti-Monahan talking points seeded by LIV and it's mouthpieces. When it's one dude from Massachusetts versus the Saudi Royal family + PIF, it takes a LOT of spin to make the former the antagonist.   

 

LIV made a direct assault on the PGA Tour. You weren't coming out unscathed. At the end of the day the PGA Tour won. LIV has never made any inroads from their initial push.

 

I believe the initial goal of LIV was to make themselves like a WGC tour. Have about 8 premiere tournaments with all the best players. The PGA basically said you aren't taking our best players for 8-weeks. LIV changed gears and created a product that doesn't really interest the golfing public. A big part of that was the PGA Tour telling players that it would be unacceptable. Norman lied to all the players telling them they won't suspend you. They can't suspend you.

[MattyO1984]

9 minutes ago, Titleist99 said:

LOL! .....Yet after his abysmal handling of the Saudis takeover of the PGAT and his laughable framework agreement (according to some) Jay managed to receive a significant salary increase in 2023, total of $23M, increase from $18M in 2022.

 

Despite all this, Jay keeps his job, wow! Keep up the bad work, Jay.

 

*Seriously, though, Jay must be doing something right.

 

What is that the old proverb says - the meek shall inherit the earth? 

[cardia10]

12 minutes ago, johnseg said:

LIV made a direct assault on the PGA Tour. You weren't coming out unscathed. At the end of the day the PGA Tour won. LIV has never made any inroads from their initial push.

 

I believe the initial goal of LIV was to make themselves like a WGC tour. Have about 8 premiere tournaments with all the best players. The PGA basically said you aren't taking our best players for 8-weeks. LIV changed gears and created a product that doesn't really interest the golfing public. A big part of that was the PGA Tour telling players that it would be unacceptable. Norman lied to all the players telling them they won't suspend you. They can't suspend you.

Norman was kind of right, the Tour suspended them, but the PGA Tour folded in court when it came time for discovery and agreed to negotiate. Maybe they are playing the long game and waiting, but I'm sure more is going on behind the scenes. Odd that the PGA Tour calls players independent contractors when it is convenient for the tour, but all the sudden as an independent contractor who signed ZERO contract, they shouldn't play elsewhere, unless you are Rory and Tiger who can play anywhere they please with zero repercussions. 

[Dave230]

1 hour ago, johnseg said:

I am not sure how to better handle the LIV thing.

 

A third party came in and tried to take your best players at any cost. PGA was able to maintain most of the talent that they wanted to keep. They raised purses and changed events to better position themselves and did not cave to initial pressure to merge.

 

Now you have an organization that is largely an afterthought that is no real threat to the tour.

 

I would say it turned out pretty good for the PGA Tour.

That may have happened anyway though due to LIV being a poor product and the PGA Tour being rooted in a game that takes its history and tradition seriously. For me, it's clear that a lot of LIV's main selling points just don't work for a wider audience - shotgun start (people prefer watching golfers play 1-18 to get to know a course how it was meant to be played), team golf (okay a few times a year, but ultimately an individual sport). And the guaranteed money aspect turns people off, never has it felt as serious as it should be, no matter what LIV PR would say.

 

Monahan went from saying the Saudis were the worst people in the world to being happy to do business with them. Didn't have to go down the ethical route when he did, I don't mind it, but then don't go back on it and then say they are great people. Won't talk about politics here as it's banned. But the merge thing was a mess which still hasn't been remotely sorted a few years later, where he just tells people the biggest word salads you've ever heard. It doesn't strike me as leadership.

Edited June 16 by Dave230

[johnseg]

10 minutes ago, Dave230 said:

That may have happened anyway though due to LIV being a poor product and the PGA Tour being rooted in a game that takes its history and tradition seriously. For me, it's clear that a lot of LIV's main selling points just don't work for a wider audience - shotgun start (people prefer watching golfers play 1-18 to get to know a course how it was meant to be played), team golf (okay a few times a year, but ultimately an individual sport). And the guaranteed money aspect turns people off, never has it felt as serious as it should be, no matter what LIV PR would say.

 

Monahan went from saying the Saudis were the worst people in the world to being happy to do business with them. Didn't have to go down the ethical route when he did, I don't mind it, but then don't go back on it and then say they are great people. Won't talk about politics here as it's banned. But the merge thing was a mess which still hasn't been remotely sorted a few years later, where he just tells people the biggest word salads you've ever heard. It doesn't strike me as leadership.

This is drifting off topic but I don't believe the LIV product that came to be was their initial incarnation. I think it was a pivot when the PGA basically told their members you go and you are gone.

 

Monahan and the tour had to play aggressive defense at first. This was going to be a real threat. They had to make the sport washing claim and bad people route. As to the merge thing, it is settled. PGA isn't merging with LIV. There is no need to. The product has failed.

[WesternRacing]

18 minutes ago, Dave230 said:

That may have happened anyway though due to LIV being a poor product and the PGA Tour being rooted in a game that takes its history and tradition seriously. For me, it's clear that a lot of LIV's main selling points just don't work for a wider audience - shotgun start (people prefer watching golfers play 1-18 to get to know a course how it was meant to be played), team golf (okay a few times a year, but ultimately an individual sport). And the guaranteed money aspect turns people off, never has it felt as serious as it should be, no matter what LIV PR would say.

 

Monahan went from saying the Saudis were the worst people in the world to being happy to do business with them. Didn't have to go down the ethical route when he did, I don't mind it, but then don't go back on it and then say they are great people. Won't talk about politics here as it's banned. But the merge thing was a mess which still hasn't been remotely sorted a few years later, where he just tells people the biggest word salads you've ever heard. It doesn't strike me as leadership.

 

Well if you want to place blame for the total mismanagement of the negotiation of the bogus framework agreement, I would look more to Jimmy Dunne than I would to Monahan.  Dunne is supposedly a big time M&A guy, yet that entire agreement was a joke that anyone with any experience in the M&A business could see from the very start.

[Duct Tape]

I just realized after clicking reply that I have no background knowledge, no insider information, absolutely nothing of real value to add to this thread regarding Monahan or PGAT leadership.   
 

If the info is correct….

 

Happy trails Jay. 

[Titleist99]

15 minutes ago, Dave230 said:

Monahan went from saying the Saudis were the worst people in the world to being happy to do business with them

Logical explanation:

 

1. Get rid of the lawyer fees

 

2. There was evidence of collusion and antitrust issues by email against the PGAT.

     Neither side wanted discovery in a legal setting.

 

3. Greed would not allow them to abandon the added revenue from the Saudis.

 

4. The squashing of the litigation allowed them to bring SSG aboard.

 

* JM took the initial PR hit, but as you can see, he has weathered the storm.

 

IMO

[Mr.Cleeks]

6 hours ago, Dave230 said:

Monahan really handled the LIV stuff abysmally, while picking up $20m a year. Good work if you can get it.

Looking back he didn't do that bad of a job. LIV signed some big names early on and then Rahm in year 3 but since then nothing. PGAT U has been a great initiative, the ssg deal was needed and tv ratings seem to be steadily rising.

[jdl]

1 hour ago, WesternRacing said:

 

Well if you want to place blame for the total mismanagement of the negotiation of the bogus framework agreement, I would look more to Jimmy Dunne than I would to Monahan.  Dunne is supposedly a big time M&A guy, yet that entire agreement was a joke that anyone with any experience in the M&A business could see from the very start.

A lot of speculation that the "agreement" was made primarily for the purpose of getting the lawsuits dropped. If so, worked out fairly well.

[bcjim]

1 hour ago, Dave230 said:

That may have happened anyway though due to LIV being a poor product and the PGA Tour being rooted in a game that takes its history and tradition seriously. For me, it's clear that a lot of LIV's main selling points just don't work for a wider audience - shotgun start (people prefer watching golfers play 1-18 to get to know a course how it was meant to be played), team golf (okay a few times a year, but ultimately an individual sport). And the guaranteed money aspect turns people off, never has it felt as serious as it should be, no matter what LIV PR would say.

 

Monahan went from saying the Saudis were the worst people in the world to being happy to do business with them. Didn't have to go down the ethical route when he did, I don't mind it, but then don't go back on it and then say they are great people. Won't talk about politics here as it's banned. But the merge thing was a mess which still hasn't been remotely sorted a few years later, where he just tells people the biggest word salads you've ever heard. It doesn't strike me as leadership.

His duty is to his membership and he acts in their interest. He doesn't work for you, or me, or @Mr.Cleeks. 

 

This new guy and the new structure, I fear, is going to pit players against the organization (PGA Tour Enterprises(?)).  And that is not good. People think Jay was heavy-handed with the waivers and granting permissions to play here or there? Oh, you wait...

[notsohard]

Ok....Greg's out of the way, now Jay's out of the way.... literally, the way....forward. 

As for Rory, I'll be the first lining up to buy his book when it gets printed. 😉