Jay Monahan Faces Major Backlash From Golf Fans Over Bizarre Houston Open Sighting: ‘Least Serious Guy’

Jay Monahan would love to take it easy. Regrettably, such things are but a luxury to the commissioner of the PGA Tour, especially after the recent setbacks he suffered owing to poor viewership numbers. Anyhow, forgetting the woes of the previous tournament, the official is right now in Texas, set to attend the upcoming event, and astonishingly, he went ahead to become a target for the fans yet again!

The 53-year-old was spotted giving an interview during a press conference ahead of the Texas Children’s Houston Open, which is set to kick off on March 28. However, what Monahan did not expect was a certain snapshot of himself and a certain sports mascot making the rounds on the internet, all the while raking in jabs directed at the PGA Tour commissioner.

Jay Monahan shares the stage with Houston Astros Orbit

A tweet was shared by Dylan Dethier on his X handle (formerly known as Twitter) which showcased Monahan attending the same. But, surprisingly, what made the picture stand out was the presence of the ‘Mayor of Space City’, more popularly known as the Houston Astros Orbit, standing to the side of the same. The picture uploaded with the caption, “Jay Monahan addressing the media at the Texas Children’s Houston Open,” went ahead to go viral on the internet.

Now, the official was attending the conference while sitting alongside the rest of the tournament committee, which counted the likes of Jim Crane, the Chairperson of the Houston Astros; John Whitmire, the Mayor of Houston; and Mark A. Wallace, CEO of the Texas Children’s Hospital. Although he did talk about a lot of stuff, including the revitalization of Memorial Park and its golf course and raising funds to do the same, among others, the community seemed to only have eyes for the viral snap.

Regardless, such an unexpected situation came just after he experienced another setback on the PGA Tour. Unfortunately, the recently ended Valspar Championship saw an average of 1.886 million viewers, a saddening 27% dip in the numbers as opposed to what it had raked in during the past year, which saw numbers of 2.594 million. Jay Monahan would hopefully be looking forward to a better situation at the Houston Open but it appears he himself didn’t have that good of a start owing to the tweet.

Fans go crazy over Monahan’s unexpected snap

Even the commissioner wouldn’t have imagined such a random snap would go ahead and rake in so many reactions from the community. There were a lot of comments, ranging from those making fun of the official to others taking a jab at him for the state of the Tour.

ALSO READ: Wyndham Clark Injury Update: Nasty ‘Back Pain’ Scare Forces PGA Tour Pro to Admit His Doubts

The 53-year-old had been faced with a lot of flak, especially after he announced the LIV Golf-PGA Tour merger unexpectedly last June. Ever since then, the community has been attacking the official left and right, and it got worse when golfers on the circuit, including Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, and Adrian Meronk, among others, defected to the breakaway league. A fan even went ahead to comment, “Never thought someone could look exhausted from f**king over the Tour but then there’s Jay” while another quipped at how unprofessional he had become over time, “He always looks so amateur.” However, the cream of the crop came when an enthusiast dubbed him as the “Least serious guy up there,” especially after all that had transpired over the last two years.

Some of the users couldn’t help but notice the mascot standing towards the right side of the picture and commented, “Jay in the orange?” to which Dethier replied, “I should have been more specific,” all the while indulging in the humorous moment. On the other hand, some expressed their ardent love for the mascot as they responded, “Orbit remains undefeated,” while others decided to bring in the governor of the PIF to the fray. The PGA Tour’s Player Directors along with Jay Monahan, were spotted at the Bahamas recently for a meeting with Yasir Al-Rumayyan. After the gathering, many including Webb Simpson and Peter Malnati had stated how the merger would be delayed thus, leading to the humorous comment of the Saudi businessman gathering intel in the midst of the other party’s territory.

So far, Jay Monahan hasn’t been having the best of times when it comes to the 2024 calendar. The uncertain and delayed prospect of the framework agreement isn’t helping him much either. Thus, he can only look forward and hope that the upcoming event erases all his worries.

READ MORE – Peter Malnati Slams LIV Golf and PGA Tour Over ‘Sick’ Money Obsession: ‘Don’t Think Our Fans Care’