PGA Tour’s Jay Monahan or LIV Golf’s Greg Norman: Who gets fired first?
When the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced an agreement to merge their business operations, tour commissioner Jay Monahan was seen as a future leader and golfer, and LIV golfer Greg Norman was a victim of the transaction.
Monaghan celebrated a “historic day” when he was appointed to oversee the PIF-funded PGA Tour and LIV Golf. He is even known to have the power to lose LIV Golf.
As for Norman, LIV’s CEO and board member, the Palm Beach Gardens resident told a Senate subcommittee hearing a month after the announcement that “he will be fired from my position of work” if an agreement is reached. Seven months later, Monaghan’s star had crashed and burned and Norman was more determined and confident than ever.
Whether or not the sides reach a deal before Sunday’s deadline, which Tiger Woods believes is possible, the biggest surprise in 2024 could be Monahan, who has recently become famous in his field and moved away from Ponte . Vedra Beach and Norman survive the chaos. While some members of the PGA Tour have called for new leadership, Norman expressed confidence that he and LIV are in it for the long haul during a meeting with select media in Doral two months ago.
Norman was asked what he thought when Ron Price, the PGA Tour’s chief operating officer, told him he was going to be fired. “I knew it wasn’t true,” he said. “There was so much white noise outside that I wasn’t paying attention. … “I’ve never been afraid of anybody saying anything to me or being hostile or anything like that.”
And Norman said LIV Golf will continue to exist as a “separate entity” despite its deal with the PGA Tour.
Jon Rahm shakes hands with PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monaghan during the trophy presentation after winning the final round of the Guardian Tournament of Champions on the Plantation Course at Kapalua Golf Club in Lahaina, Hawaii on January 8, 2023. (Photo credit: Harry Howe/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Jupiter’s Xander Schauffele was one of the most outspoken about Monahan’s future. He told Today’s Golfer it was “okay” to meet the new management.
“I’d be lying if I said I felt more confident after the incident,” Schauffele said. “When I talk to a lot of men, they can definitely relate to that. It’s a bit counterintuitive that they call it “our tour” and anything can happen without us knowing. “It’s difficult. I’m sure there’s a reason for what happened, but at the same time it puts us in a position where it’s very difficult to trust the leadership to do things in the dark and put the interest first place.” Please pay attention. I’m still a bit in the dark. I don’t want to sit here and hope it gets better.”
Monaghan’s mistake was that he spent nearly two months in secret negotiations with PIF chief Yasir Al-Rumayyan. This angered the players and Woods was added to the Players Advisory Committee, giving the players a stronger voice.
When Monaghan heard this news, he later regretted not paying the players. But Monaghan has clearly lost the trust of his players, and his decline continued when he saw Jon Rahm, who expressed his distrust of Monaghan at the US Open last November, join LIV
