Rory McIlroy defends PGA Tour chief Jay Monahan after Xander Schauffele comments
Rory McIlroy has leapt to the defence of PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, who the Northern Irishman has a close relationship with, after fellow tour pro Xander Schauffele said he has lost faith in the commissioner.
Monahan's position as commissioner of the PGA Tour came under intense scrutiny last year after he announced an earth-shattering merger deal had been tentatively agreed between the PGA Tour and the breakaway LIV Golf circuit. The merger framework, which would have ended golf's civil war, blindsided the golfing world - including players.
Since then, the merger has yet to be completed, but the Tour did agree to a huge investment deal from Strategic Sports Group, which pumped cash into the game. Speaking this week, Monahan insisted he still has the full support of the PGA Tour board and plans to stay on as commissioner.
But Schauffele isn't so sure about that, and insisted Monahan still has work to do in order to regain the full trust of fans and players alike. He said: “Trust is something that’s pretty tender, so words are words, and I would say in my book [Monahan’s] got a long way to go,”
"He could be the guy, but in my book, he’s got a long way to go to gain the trust of the membership.” McIlroy was quick to respond to those comments, and insisted he still fully supports the commissioner.
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He said: "I mean, you look at what Jay's done since he took over. The media rights deal, navigating us through Covid, the strategic lines with the DP World Tour.
Rory McIlroy has jumped to the defence of Jay Monahan"I would say creating PGA Tour enterprises - we were just able to accept $1.5billion into the business.
"People can nitpick and they can say 'You didn't do this right and you didn't do that right' but if you actually step back and look at the bigger picture, I think the PGA Tour is in a far stronger position now than it was before Jay took over."
McIlroy has been open in the past about his relationship with Monahan, and has defended him in public on numerous occasions. The Northern Irishman took on a leadership role in the fight against LIV Golf back in 2022, and was often seen flanking Monahan at various press conferences.
Speaking on the new series of Full Swing, McIlroy admitted he's closer to Monahan than anyone else on the tour. He said: "I would say I am closer with Jay than any of the players on Tour.
"That would be my relationship with Jay. It was Jay and myself who were doing a lot of the critique of LIV."
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