PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan Accepting Of Being Called A Hypocrite Following Merger With LIV Golf
Following the stunning announcement of the merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, Jay Monahan was lambasted and immediately labeled a hypocrite. It wasn't just golf fans on social media calling out the PGA Tour commissioner, however, plenty of Tour players during Tuesday's players-only meeting fiercely criticized Monahan as well.
Monahan and the PGA Tour have spent the better part of a year distancing themselves from the Saudi-funded circuit, but now they're openly welcoming the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) to pull a seat up to the table in exchange for investment into what will be a new entity and partnership.
Nobody saw this type of merger coming, at least not in this fast fashion, and some golf fans, media members, and players are furious about the new reality.
Jay Monahan knows he'll be called a hypocrite for days to come following the PGA Tour - LIV Golf merger. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
Monahan understands what a shock this is, and is fully prepared to be called every name under the sun for the foreseeable future.
“I recognize that people are going to call me a hypocrite,” Monahan told the media ahead of the RBC Canadian Open on Tuesday evening.
“Anytime I said anything, I said it with the information that I had at that moment, and I said it based on someone that's trying to compete for the PGA Tour and our players."
“I accept those criticisms. But circumstances do change. I think that in looking at the big picture and looking at it this way, that's what got us to this point.”
While the players-only meeting held in Toronto was behind closed doors, former PGA Tour player now Golf Channel analyst Johnson Wagner said multiple players inside the room called for new leadership in front of Monahan. In some cases, players stood up and cheered when the calls to action were made.
This merger isn't the swift ripping off of a band-aid, either, Monahan will be catching heat for weeks and weeks to come. With so many questions that he himself doesn't even have the answers to yet, the criticism and pushback from all angles will reach an overwhelming point.
There seems to be a real possibility that Monahan isn't a part of the Tour's future, but then again it's hard to envision the current commissioner getting the boot in the middle of the most intense moment in the history of professional golf.
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