Jay Monahan & Co’s Unfair Treatment Gets Called Out After PGA Tour’s Bold Farmers Insurance Open Decision

Golf and weather have a love-hate relationship. One day it’s a perfect storm of birdies and sunshine, and the next day, Mother Nature throws a curveball. We saw this play out at The Sentry as well, where ideal conditions led to record-breaking scores. The winner, Hideki Matsuyama, carded an incredible -35 (72 holes), the lowest on the Tour. But now as we move to the 4th week of the year at Torrey Pines, the script has flipped itself.

During the second round, the PGA Tour suspended the Farmers Insurance Open play, stating the reason as harsh winds (gusting up to 44 km/h). The decision was made at 2:05 p.m. PT. The $9.3 million event got off to an exciting start. Ludvig Aberg took the lead in the first round, carding a 63 with 8 birdies and an eagle. However, the second round was a different story.

The weather was expected to be sunny and clear but was not. Joel Dahmen, currently tied for 5th, aptly described the conditions as “survival mode” out there. Even Michael Kim, sitting at T14, expressed his frustration on X, saying, “Yeah, it s–ked,” when asked about his struggles to score on one of the most scoring-friendly courses.

Interestingly, Eric Cole, one of the few players to finish the second round, shared a similar sentiment. Despite completing his round, Cole admitted, “It was a great day, but I obviously wish I wouldn’t have bogeyed the last hole… to be done and just be able to say that a day like this is over and I don’t have to finish the round off is a great feeling.” All and all, a troublesome day, indeed. But it seems that only Tour players get the leverage of not playing in tough windy conditions. Players, not playing on the Tour, don’t get that benefit.

Monday Q Info took to their X profile and brought up a fascinating comparison from last year’s Mexican Korn Ferry Q School site. Despite 40 mph winds, the event went ahead and finished, albeit extending 7 hours past its original time. Unlike suspending it at Torrey Pines. The conditions at that time were brutal, with two-club, three-club, and even four-club winds forcing players to fight through the gale like they were at The Open Championship.

The top five finishers of that event were Alistair Docherty (3-under), Corey Shaun (3-under), Matthew Riedel (3-under), Takumi Kanaya (2-under), and Jin Chung, Lanto Griffin, Joe Weiler, and Zack Fischer (1-under).

Now if we look at Torrey Pines, where only 15 players teed off in the second round. Doesn’t that seem a bit…partial? Was Jay Monahan, along with the weather, testing the new faces at Korn Ferry last year? Or did the 54-year-old not bother much because Q-school matches have smaller crowds and, therefore, less money compared to main events? Well, that’s a bit controversial.

We might not know what you think, but the golfing world is certainly disappointed. The post went viral, and the comments are filled with frustrated fans wondering why the PGA Tour seemed to handle the two events so differently.

Fans smash the PGA Tour for stopping play at the Tory Pines.

One fan felt for players like Wesley Bryan, who was just one hole away from completing his round. “Wesley Bryan had one hole to go. He would have for sure moved up the board. This is really not fair to anyone done or nearly done.” Bryan is currently sitting at T7 with a total score of 3 under par.

Another fan questioned the PGA Tour’s decision to stop play altogether, pointing out that gusty winds haven’t halted play in the past. “If the ball isn’t being blown off the green, why stop play? It’s ridiculous,” they said. And we agree! Last year, for instance, in the unofficial last event of 2024, the Grant Thornton Invitational, where Rickie Fowler too expressed his sentiments. “There were some teams out there who played some pretty good golf because it was windy and gusty; it wasn’t easy,” the pro said.

One fan sarcastically chimed in, “Getting pretty annoying that anytime there aren’t ideal scoring conditions, the Tour steps in to make sure these guys can birdie every hole.” They hinted that Jay Monahan’s decision might be motivated by a desire to attract viewers with impressive birdie scores. If we look at the top 5 players at the Farmers Insurance Open tour. A total of 9, 10, 12, 8, and 8 are the birdie scores of the top 5 players on the scoreboard.

Another fan expressed their disappointment, saying, “I guarantee you there are some D3 collegiate golfers playing in the same wind with rain and hail in 40-degree weather this spring, and these guys can’t handle a little wind…. PLEASE, this is so dumb.” But his roasting session did not stop there. A social media user burst out, saying, “This is so dumb. Unfair to the guys already done.” According to Golf Week, only 15 players out of 152 in the field completed their second rounds when play was suspended.

Now that you’ve heard from the golfing community, it’s your turn! Share your thoughts on the suspended play and the PGA Tour’s decision in the debate section below!