29 November 2023 , 15:19
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Phil Mickelson has called on PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan to be sacked, with the looming framework agreement continuing to cast a cloud over professional golf.
Monahan is the man at the centre of the pending deal between the PGA Tour and Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which is set to see them unite with their LIV Golf rivals. LIV's biggest name, Mickelson has been critical of the Monahan and co's running of the Tour, which appeared to play a role in his decision to join the breakaway league last summer.
With the framework agreement's December 31 deadline creeping up, reports suggest the two sides are no closer to signing off the deal, with the Tour also in talks with other potential partners away from the Saudi fund.
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For Mickelson, he believes it is time for the Tour commissioner to step aside. Responding to a tweet by golf commentator Bob Ball criticising Monahan, the LIV star wrote: "Well said. In addition to strong arming LIV players, losing trust with his players, and all credibility with his staff, golf is in this situation entirely because of him [Monahan].
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"There’s no unity or path forward with him involved in my opinion as well." It still remains to be seen if or when a deal between the American-based circuit and PIF will be finalised, and what it will mean for the sport moving forward, on the back of one the ugliest periods in its history.
Mickelson however believes that when the agreement is eventually signed off, it will see players from both sides reunite and once again play alongside each other. Responding to a fan on X, he added: "In my 30+ years we never had any tournaments where all the best player played against each other outside the 4 majors and Players.
"Now with elevated events every single top Tour player must compete. When both tours come together, every top player in the world will compete against each other many times a year. Both scenarios are better for the fans and sponsors than how it was before."
The HyFlyers captain's comments came hours after his long-time PGA Tour rival and Ryder Cup teammate Tiger Woods broke his silence on the ongoing negotiations. Woods is back in action at this week's Hero World Challenge for the first time since April's Masters, and unsurprisingly answered questions on the merger in his pre-tournament press conference.
Throughout the saga the 15-time major champion has stayed loyal to both Monahan and the PGA Tour, but he did admit he was left frustrated with the circuit's handling of the shock framework agreement announcement in June. "We [PGA Tour players] were very frustrated with what happened," Woods said.
"We were all taken back by it. It happened so quickly without any of our involvement. No one knew. That can't happen again." In the aftermath Woods was appointed to the Tour's Policy Board as a Player Director, and will now have a direct say on the PGA Tour's next steps moving forward.
Continuing with his discussion about how to make sure he and his fellow players are not left in the dark in the future, he added: "How we do that is having six player directors so we control the board and we control what we're going to do.
"I think Jay [Monahan] has been a part of the direction, he understands what happened prior to that can't happen again and won't happen again, not with the players that are involved and not with the player directors having the role that we have."