Rory McIlroy says he still has confidence in Jay Monahan to carry on in his role amid calls for the PGA Tour commissioner to resign.
Monahan has come in for widespread criticism since the PGA Tour announced its shock merger with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia that currently bankrolls LIV Golf. The deal will align the commercial interests of the established circuits with the PIF under one umbrella, leading to the formation of a new entity, building on LIV’s team golf concept.
Given players who accepted mega-money offers to join LIV are set to have a route back to the PGA Tour, McIlroy understands “the anger” among those who remained loyal, admitting he feels like a “sacrificial lamb” for his public stance against the Saudi presence in golf.
However, the Northern Irishman has now conceded the PGA Tour is in a stronger position as a result of the merger and pointed to Monahan’s “impressive” track record in business as reason to trust him.
Ahead of his title defence at the RBC Canadian Open, McIlroy said: “Look, I’ve dealt with Jay a lot closer than a lot of those guys have. From where we were a couple of weeks ago to where we are today, I think the future of the PGA Tour looks brighter as a whole, as an entity.
“What that looks like for individual players in terms of keeping a Tour card and bringing players back into the fold and then that sacrifices other people, that’s where the anger comes from, right. And I understand that.
“There still has to be consequences to actions. The people that left the PGA Tour irreparably harmed this Tour, started litigation against it. Like, we can’t just welcome them back in. Like, that’s not going to happen.
“And I think that was the one thing that Jay was trying to get across yesterday is like, ‘Guys, we’re not just going to bring these guys back in and pretend like nothing’s happened’. That is not going to happen.
“So I do have confidence in him [Monahan]. I think you ask the people around him that deal with him in a business sense, whether it’s the directors of the board of the PGA Tour. or the title sponsors that he deals with, I mean, he seems to be a very impressive individual when it comes to business.”
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