After years of conversation, Commish finally said what we wanted to hear. Here are five things we learned from his player press conference.
It feels like it's been a while since PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has something to say.
That's not (total) criticism. It's just that every time he's in front of the media, he says he won't allow him to provide any kind of updates to the framework agreement with Saudi Arabia's public investment funds.
So maybe it was because he showed up all the guns at his traditional Tuesday press conference.
New slow race rules will work next month
Forget the players leaving LIV, slow games are the biggest threat to people's interest in top golf at the moment. Previous advice from Rory McIlroy and PGA Tour has proven unpopular, and Collin Morikawa takes a sharper approach – it seems that this is how Monahan tends to be.
“We are committed to addressing race speed. To that end, I am excited to officially announce these suggestions from our leading race speed task force: We will start releasing statistics related to race speed later this season.
“We will also begin testing Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour Americas’ new game speed policies next month on April 14, which include assessing the fine stroke of slow races.
“We will be testing range finders on six tours between the Masters and the PGA Championship. We are excited to learn more about the impact of increasing transparency and accountability through these efforts.”
New Tour Championship format under consideration
Some people like it. Some people hate it. Everyone is talking about it. So, the Tour Championship format will see the last 30 people with disabilities on East Lake in the last four rounds of the season in search of a real champion?
“We are exploring the Tour Championship format carefully and with the support of our Players Advisory Committee, we are considering a new approach and we look forward to sharing more details in the coming weeks.”
President Trump “greatly strengthened” PGA tour negotiations
Say what you want Donald Trump, but the president does have a record of completing the task. Last month, he met with LIV Golf Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and the player director of PGA Tour to try to resolve the split that exists between two professional golf institutions. Monahan is happy with the way things go.
“The negotiations are real, they are substantial, and are driven at the highest level of both organizations. President Trump’s willingness to serve as a facilitator has greatly supported these conversations.
“President Trump is a lifelong golf fan. He believes in the power and potential of the game, and his time and influence are extremely generous to help bring the deal together. He wants to see the game reunified. We want to see the game reunified. His involvement makes the prospect of unification very real.”
The elements of Liv golf can be added to the structure of the PGA Tour
This is perhaps the most interesting aspect of the merger between top golf tours. Are we likely to see some country music clamoring in speakers in every hole open in Texas? How about the team champion? Or even a few 54-hole activities to help the tiger's next comeback?
OK, so the last part seems unlikely to happen, but the point is: There are a lot of options discussed at the top table in golf, and it is crucial that Monaghan reveals that he is now willing to add some elements of the Liv Golf to the PGA Tour product.
“As part of our negotiations, we believe there is room for the inclusion of important aspects of Liv Golf into the PGA Tour Platform,” Monahan said as part of a long opening statement. “We are doing everything we can to bring both sides together.
“That is, we are not going to lower the strength of the platform or the real momentum with fans and partners. So while we remove some of the obstacles, others remain.”
As for the obstacles, Monahan doesn't want to get into trouble. But, we know from talking with Guy Kinnings that the DP World Tour favors combining team elements and creating an international schedule similar to Formula One. The PGA Tour may not be that way.
If that is true, it's still two people who oppose LIV and DP world tours, although you probably don't need to remind Monahan of his stubbornness. Although there are a lot of Daming players who want him out, he is still in the popular seats, which proves it!
DP World Tour plays an “important” role in negotiations
Given that a lot of the focus is on the PGA Tour and LIV, and whether they can really coexist, it's easy to forget that the DP World Tour is also part of the negotiations. When asked about their involvement in the deal, Jay Monahan revealed that he called his European rival Guy Kinnings “almost every day.”
Of course, this does make you wonder what they are actually talking about, especially when they signed the framework agreement 21 months ago. But Monahan does say that in his discussions with all parties, he “can’t underestimate the importance of the role they play”. What exactly is, we are still uncertain. Kinnings had hoped that in 2026 a unified global timeline could be organized in a timely manner, but Monahan was less inclined to put it on.
“I don’t think it’s that simple,” Monaghan said when asked if there is a deadline for everyone to work on. “When you’re in the middle of these negotiations, and they’re as complex as they are, there’s no specific deadline to be established. [But] I will do my best to be able to make the progress we need to make under our control. ”
