Players want Monahan replaced
Jay Monahan had what he described as a heated discussion with PGA Tour golfers over an agreement to unify with the DP World Tour and the LIV Golf League.
www.espn.com
"It was contentious," he said. "There were many moments where certain players were calling for new leadership of the PGA Tour and even got a couple standing ovations."
In a news conference with reporters later, Monahan said he realizes he might be criticized for agreeing to form a new entity with Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund after he had questioned the source of the LIV Golf League in the past.
At last year's RBC Canadian Open, Monahan was asked about the Saudi Arabian monarchy's connections to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks during an interview with CBS Sports.
"I think you'd have to be living under a rock not to know there are significant implications," Monahan said at the time. "I would ask any player who has left or any player who would consider leaving, 'Have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour?'"
During Tuesday's meeting with Monahan, several players complained about being kept in the dark during the negotiations.
Many players found out via social media on Tuesday before ever seeing a memo that was sent by Monahan.
PGA Tour stars such as
Tiger Woods,
Rory McIlroy,
Jon Rahm and others weren't told about the pending deal in advance, and neither were members of the Player Advisory Council.
A source told ESPN that Monahan didn't reveal many details of the plan with PIF and the DP World Tour and stood in the front of the room "and took everything the players gave him."
"When you get into these conversations, and given the complexity of what we were dealing with, it's not uncommon that the circle of information is very tight," Monahan said. "In our case, we kept that information very tight. ... The fact of the matter is that this was a shock to a lot of people because we were not in a position to share or explain, as we normally would, and that was really a result of the commitment we had made to maintaining confidentiality through the end."
Monahan said he understood
players being frustrated about being blindsided by the news.
"Obviously, it's been a very dynamic and complex couple of years, and for players, I'm not surprised," Monahan said. "This is an awful lot to ask them to digest, and this is a significant change for us in the direction that we were going down."
