‘Strong Arming LIV Players’: Phil Mickelson Sends Unwavering Support to the Jay Monahan ‘Firing’ Rumors

Bob “Golf” Ball, a commentator of the sport, had taken to his social media handle a while back to express his dissatisfaction with the commissioner of the PGA Tour. He wrote long tweets mentioning how, as per reports, Monahan is “finished as PGA Tour Commissioner as soon as the Framework Agreement is executed (or not).”

He shared how three groups have lost trust in him: First-Players who went to LIV. Second- PGA Tour players and employees. Third- television, vendors, and suppliers. Citing reasons for each of the three, he conveyed how the 53-year-old lost the trust of the stakeholders in his organization.

“But secretly, in one of the vilest and most scum worthy ironies, Monahan did all of this when just a year earlier, he was included in a series of emails (exposed in court filings by @DesertDufferLLG) trying to get the Saudis to bail out the DP World Tour. Yes, getting investment from the very people he was now trashing,” he wrote.  

Phil Mickelson agreed with the journalist, who mentioned how the commissioner backed himself into a corner with his actions against players and staff alike. The 45X PGA Tour Champ accused him of being the reason behind the current situation of the sport as he tweeted, “In addition to strong-arming LIV players, losing trust with his players, and all credibility with his staff,” all the while expressing his disagreement in working with him.

LIV Golf has seen a lot of obstacles since its inception in 2021. And, standing at the forefront of the many hurdles has been none other than Jay Monahan. Besides, the approaching deadline coupled with the unconfirmed news regarding the $3 billion merger has sent a lot of worries over the players of the Saudi-backed league.

Moreover, the golf world found itself experiencing nothing short of a shock as Monahan pushed the golfers participating in the LIV promotions event into a corner, among other things. As trust in the PGA Tour commissioner gradually lessened, this time around, it was Phil Mickelson who took a not-so-subtle jab at the 53-year-old! However, this isn’t new because the golfer has been taking digs at Monahan for a while.

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The PGA Tour had initially suspended the players who had jumped to the PIF-funded league. However, even after the announcement of the $3 billion merger, the deal now seems to be in shaky waters as well, since it was met with nothing short of unconfirmed news, casting shadows of worry over the players of the Saudi-backed league.

Many were stunned after hearing the news of a merger with LIV. As per reports, one player even called Monahan a “hypocrite” in a meeting held initially. He has surely had to face a lot of criticism.

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In the tweet mentioned earlier, Bob “Golf” Ball also wrote, “More importantly than the players who went to LIV, he broke the trust of the PGA Tour players. In addition to getting them to buy into the anti-Saudi narrative asking, “Will you ever have to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour?” he threatened players with sanctions for going to LIV and fears of monetary fines.”

Additionally, Ball also stated that Monahan used the PGA Tour’s relationships with vendors and suppliers to threaten them and not let them work with LIV. As per him, “None of these stakeholders will ever look at the Tour the same or feel like they are dealing in good faith if Monahan leads the organization.”

Well, one can hope that the future of golf finds itself in good hands and the players from both circuits are able to play the game without any concern.

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