Jay Monahan, the PGA commissioner who has faced calls to resign after overseeing the merger of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), is “recuperating from a medical situation”.
A joint statement from Monahan and the PGA Tour’s policy board read: “Jay Monahan informed the PGA Tour Policy Board that he is recuperating from a medical situation. The Board fully supports Jay and appreciates everyone respecting his privacy.
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“During Jay’s absence, Ron Price, chief operating officer, and Tyler Dennis, executive vice president & president, PGA Tour, will lead the day-to-day operations of the PGA tour with the assistance of the great team Jay has built, ensuring seamless continuity. We will provide further updates as appropriate.”
Price and Dennis also released a statement which read: “Our thoughts are with Jay and his family during his absence, and we wish him a speedy recovery. We have a strong and experienced leadership team in place and our priority is to support our players and continue the work under way to further lead the PGA Tour and golf’s future.”
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The news came a week after the shock announcement that the men’s tours were merging the PIF, which bankrolls the breakaway LIV Golf League. Monahan faced calls to resign at a 75-minute players’ meeting which he described as “intense and certainly heated”.
The 53-year-old accepted that he will be labelled a “hypocrite” for making the deal with the PIF but insisted the players who remained loyal to the PGA Tour – and in some cases turned down enormous pay-outs to join LIV – had made the right decision. “They have helped re-architect the future of the PGA Tour, they have moved us to a more competitive model,” Monahan said.
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Speaking before the US Open, Masters champion Jon Rahm admitted players felt “a bit of betrayal from management” after being kept in the dark about the deal.
The PGA Tour had earlier expressed confidence that it will be able to assure Congress it controls the new venture with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund after a United States senator opened an investigation into the deal. Richard Blumenthal, the Democratic senator for Connecticut, wrote to Monahan and his LIV Golf counterpart Greg Norman on Monday to say the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations was “reviewing matters” concerning the deal.
