Latest Report: Jay Monahan’s Resignation Was Demanded Months Before Viktor Hovland’s ‘Ownership’ Plea

The PGA Tour’s commissioner, Jay Monahan, had been in hot waters last year. Though he has come out with a promotion to become the CEO of PGA Tour Enterprise, not everyone on the PGA Tour would have wanted it. A recent report by No Laying Up suggests that in December 2023, Monahan was asked to resign from the Tour per their sources.

It was the time when the PGA Tour and PIF’s merger deadline was creeping close and there was no finalization in sight—not that it has come yet. The report wanders on to various topics of disagreement within the PGA Tour, as top players like Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele still shed a hint of doubt on Monahan’s leadership.

Jay Monahan subtly acknowledges the resignation question 

At the Tuesday presser on TPC Sawgrass, Jay Monahan was asked by Sky Sports reporter Jamie Weir if, in the past 9 months, he was asked to resign from his commissioner post. He gave a subtle hint saying, “There’s been a lot of good spirited debate amongst our board. I don’t think that would be a surprise to anybody, you know, given the events of last summer.” Monahan didn’t elaborate on the debate or the question.

Instead, he started to explain the formation of PGA Tour Enterprise’s new policy board and how it will help in the growth of the league. Furthermore, Monahan shared his excitement, “honored to serve as commissioner and now be a member of the PGA Tour Policy Board, and also honored to be CEO of PGA Tour Enterprises and be a part of that board, and committed to working with each of those boards to make sure we’re moving this business forward and achieving what we can achieve to its full capacity.” said the 53-year-old.

Despite Monahan ignoring the question, there has been distrust in the leadership, which started on June 6th last year. When Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan shared the TV screens to announce the newest and most shocking $3 billion partnership between PIF and PGA Tour.

The merger decision by the PGA Tour’s leadership was seen as a betrayal by many on the Tour, as they were unaware of such news. Owing to that, although not all, many pros are doubting Monahan and his future moves and seem to have lost faith in Monahan, including Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland.

PGA Tour pros contrasting views on Jay Monahan’s leadership 

On Tuesday at TPC Sawgrass, Xander Schauffele expressed, “He [Jay Monahan] could be the guy [for PGA Tour leadership], but in my book, he’s got a long way to go to gain the trust of the membership.” Moreover, Viktor Hovland, who called out the PGA Tour previously, found that “As a leader of an organization, I will want a person like that to take some ownership, and say, hey, we made a couple of mistakes, but this is how we’re going to rectify it, instead of kind of sweeping it under the rug,” said he, showing that though the mistakes were in the past, Monahan has to take some accountability.

Read More: Viktor Hovland Thrashes PGA Tour’s ‘Money’ Fixation in a Scathing Attack: ‘Little Bit Sad’

But not all are against Monahan’s leadership, as Rory McIlroy still believes Monahan to be the right person and has made the PGA Tour stronger than ever. However, these contradicting views from within the PGA Tour show that there are different fragments of differential opinions. While many think Monahan has been soaring through the difficult situation, others are against his various decisions.

With him becoming a new leader of the PGA Tour Enterprise in collaboration with SSG, Monahan’s future looks stable without any threat of resignation. However, if the ship started sinking again, where would Jay Monahan go and would everyone on the PGA Tour support him?

Read More: Rory McIlroy Admits, Tiger Woods’ “Tour Doesn’t Financially Need PIF” Left Him Confused