ATLANTA, GEORGIA | One year ago, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan spent the bulk of his season-ending press conference at the Tour Championship detailing the tour’s new scheduling model built around what are now called signature events, a borderline revolutionary shift in a long-standing operational model.
A year later, the revolution is ongoing with the tour in the midst of controversial negotiations on an agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund that will further reshape the PGA Tour’s future.
For Monahan, who returned last month after a five-week break for medical reasons, the complicated negotiations remain a work in progress, and he remains confident that a detailed agreement will be reached between the various parties.
“We have put an end to the divisive and distracting litigation, we have safeguards that are in place to put the PGA Tour in a position to control our future, and as I sit here today, I am confident that we will reach an agreement that achieves a positive outcome for the PGA Tour and our fans. I see it and I’m certain of it,” Monahan said Tuesday at East Lake Golf Club, where the top 30 players in the season standings will compete for $75 million beginning Thursday, with $18 million to the winner.
While there is a FedEx Cup champion to be crowned this week at hot, sweaty East Lake and the end-of-the-year deadline for reaching an agreement with the PIF, Monahan spent a portion of his annual question-and-answer session talking about what might happen the first week of January next year when the tour is scheduled to begin its season on fire-ravaged Maui.
The intention, Monahan said, is to play the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua to start the tour’s return to a full calendar schedule, but only if the situation allows it to be played.
“At this point there’s so many unknowns, and we want to be respectful of the challenges. We want to help be a part of the revitalization. There are a lot of considerations,” Monahan said.
“If we’re allowed to, if we’re invited, if we’re embraced, given all that needs to be accomplished, we will be there 100 percent.”
While Kapalua was spared from the wildfires that destroyed Lahaina, killed at least 115 and left 850 still missing a few miles away, the impact – both immediate and far-reaching – has been immense. The number of lives lost, the number of missing persons, the destruction of property and the emotional toll that endures are all part of the tour’s equation.
“Any time you talk to a leader of any other organization, once you get to this position, it’s pretty standard that there isn’t a lot that you’re going to be able to share. But we continue to reinforce the fact that the framework agreement ultimately is the path that we’re on, and when we’re able to share more information, we will.” – Jay Monahan
At the moment, Monahan said, there is no Plan B should a return to Kapalua next year not work.
“We want to do everything we can to make certain that that’s a moment for the people of Maui that is entirely helpful and inspiring,” Monahan said.
“I would also add that our partner in Sentry has been there every step of the way and is doing some pretty remarkable things right now alongside our team, and we’ll have more to add on that front. But we are hopeful to be there.”
While the 2024 tour schedule has been announced and will feature more than $500 million in prize money, the uncertainty about where the tour lands in its negotiations with the PIF and the DP World Tour hangs as heavily as the late-summer heat.
Since the surprise June 6 announcement of a framework agreement with the PIF, tour officials including Monahan have informed players about what they can disclose while acknowledging the need for secrecy.
Understandably, Monahan was short on details regarding the ongoing process Tuesday.
“Any time you talk to a leader of any other organization, once you get to this position, it’s pretty standard that there isn’t a lot that you’re going to be able to share. But we continue to reinforce the fact that the framework agreement ultimately is the path that we’re on, and when we’re able to share more information, we will,” Monahan said.
Asked specifically about LIV Golf’s future, Monahan deferred, though it seems clear that the second-year league will play again next year.
Monahan’s future as commissioner has been called into question after his abrupt about-face regarding a potential merger with the PIF, with many players sharing their frustrations about being kept in the dark about negotiations. The five player members on the tour’s Policy Board (there are six members now with the recent addition of Tiger Woods) learned the news about the time everyone else did.
Since the June announcement, the tour has brought on businessman Colin Neville to advise the player directors on the intricacies of a potential agreement. Monahan pushed back against the suggestion that having more player involvement and more communication suggests the tour structure wasn’t functioning properly before.
“I think players are now saying, OK, I understand what we’re trying to accomplish and why we’ve taken this step. I understand the confidential nature of what we’re dealing with and how you plan to handle that within the governance,” Monahan said.
“At this point, I think players are focused on their play, and they know as we move forward, and certainly as we move towards the end of the year, there’s a responsibility, an expectation, from them towards me and the team that we’re going to be in a position to communicate a positive outcome for the PGA Tour.”