When the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced a framework agreement to merge their commercial operations, Tour commissioner Jay Monahan appeared the future leader and golf and LIV Golf’s Greg Norman a casualty of the deal.
Monahan lauded the “historic day,” and was hailed as the man who would oversee both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, which is bankrolled by the PIF. And it was reported he even had the power to make LIV Golf go away.
As for Norman, LIV’s CEO and commissioner, we were told during a Senate subcommittee hearing one month after the announcement the Palm Beach Gardens resident is “out of a job” if a deal is reached.
Seven months later, Monahan’s star has crashed and burned and Norman, well, he’s as defiant and confident as ever.
Whether or not the sides reach a deal by Sunday’s deadline — Tiger Woods believes it’s possible — the biggest surprise in 2024 could be Monahan, a man who not long ago was a rising star in his field, cleaning out his desk in Ponte Vedra Beach and Norman surviving the chaos.
A scenario that suddenly is a real possibility.
While some PGA Tour members are calling for new leadership, Norman expressed his confidence that he and LIV are here for the long run during a meeting with select members of the media at Doral two months ago.
Norman was asked what he thought when he heard the PGA Tour’s chief operating officer, Ron Price, declare Norman would be squeezed out.
“I knew it wasn’t true,” he said. “There’s so much white noise floating around out there that I actually paid zero attention to. … I was never in any fear of anybody saying anything or any animus against me or anything like that.”
And Norman insists LIV Golf would continue as a “standalone entity” even if a deal is reached with the PGA Tour.
Jon Rahm shakes hands with Jay Monahan, PGA TOUR Commissioner, during the trophy ceremony after winning during the final round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Plantation Course at Kapalua Golf Club on January 08, 2023 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Jupiter’s Xander Schauffele has been one of the most outspoken about Monahan’s future, telling Today’s Golfer he “wouldn’t mind” seeing new leadership.
“I would be lying if I said that I have a whole lot of trust after what happened,” Schauffele said. “That’s definitely the consensus that I get when I talk to a lot of guys. It’s a bit contradictory…
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