Jay Monahan says LIV Golf players can’t ‘free ride’ from the PGA Tour

“It’s been an unfortunate week that was created by some unfortunate decisions, those decisions the players made to violate our tournament regulations,” Monahan told CBS reporter Jim Nantz. “…My job is to protect, defend and celebrate our loyal PGA Tour members, partners and fans, and that’s exactly what I did. I don’t think it came as a surprise to anyone, given how clear I was about how we handled this situation.”

In response to a question from Nantz, why can’t players compete on both tracks – Attitude Questioned by Greg Norman, CEO of LIV Golf – Monahan began his answer with a question of his own: “Why do they need us?”

“Because these players have chosen to sign lucrative multi-year contracts to play in a series of exhibition matches against the same players over and over again,” Monahan continued. “You look at that, versus what we see here today, and that’s why they need us so badly.

“You have real and pure competition – the best players in the world are here at the RBC Canadian Open, watched by millions of fans. And in this game, it is the real and pure competition that creates the image and presence of the world’s greatest players. That’s why they need us. That’s what we do.” But we will not allow players to get rid of our loyal members, the best players in the world.”

When both events started on Thursday, Monahan released a message Explaining the comment, which LIV Golf denounced as “vengeful“It was about following the PGA Tour regulations. The tour was Release denied Last month for players who applied for a waiver to compete at the LIV Golf event in England. The number of players who defected, Including American superstar Dustin Johnsonresigned their membership on the PGA Tour rather than face further penalties.

As for whether players like Johnson and fellow LIV Golf co-owner Phil Mickelson could one day be allowed to return to the PGA Tour, the commissioner objected on Sunday. His tour could face legal challenges due to its suspension.

“We’ll see how things continue to develop, as we’re down the road here,” he told Nantes.

The PGA Tour allowed a number of its members to play at the Saudi International in February. Asked to explain why this would be accepted but involvement with LIV Golf is not, Monahan pointed to the fact that the February competition was “one event recognized by a Certified Tour”, in this case the Asian Tour.

“This series is a group of events, mostly centered in North America,” Monahan said of the LIV Golf Venture project, which is sponsored by the Public Investment Fund in Saudi Arabia and guarantees huge payouts for participating players.

“Why would this group spend so much money, billions of dollars, recruiting players and chasing a concept, with no potential for a return?” Manahan said during the interview. “At the same time, there have been a lot of questions, a lot of comments about ‘game growth.’ And I ask: How useful is this for a game we love?”

Monahan also asked a rhetorical question for players who have left for LIV Golf or were thinking about it: “Have you ever apologized for being a PGA Tour member?”

Critics of the Saudi-backed project said it represents effort “sports wash” by a repressive regime eager to use golf to win goodwill and divert the topic away from allegations of human rights abuses. Norman caused an uproar last month when he downplayed the assassination of Saudi dissident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 by telling a London audience, “Look, We all made mistakes. At a press conference prior to the LIV Golf event, Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland He said Khashoggi’s murder was “reprehensible” but noted professional golfers “are not political”.

While Monahan spoke on CBS, Rory McIlroy was sitting atop a star-studded leader board at the Canadian Open on his way to pleasing the crowd. Victory in Toronto.

McIlroy, also from Northern Ireland, has emerged as one of the harshest critics Among the Saudi Project’s PGA Tour players and participants. In February, McIlroy Mickelson slammed With the top tour players at the time appearing to have closed their ranks behind that circuit, LIV Golf declared it “dead in the water”.

2011 Masters winner Charles Schwarzl won his first LIV Golf event on Saturday and took home $4.75 million plus an undisclosed amount to join the ring.

“Where the money comes from is not a thing… I’ve looked at it before, playing in my 20-year career,” the 37-year-old South African player He said. “I think if you start digging everywhere where we played, you might find fault with anything.”

Next up for the series is its first American leg, a championship outside of Portland, Oregon, which begins at the end of June. In all, five of the eight LIV Golf events scheduled for this year will be in the US, including a pair that will take place on courses owned by Donald Trump.

LIV golf course is expected to be enhanced by the former major champions Bryson DeShampoo and Patrick Reed. The tournament will take place at the same time as the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic in Sylvies, Illinois. It can also be the most famous names on their way to LIV Golf, which gives it more credibility and could lead to a decisive change if its events become eligible for points in the official golf world rankings.

LIV Golf players sacrifice the opportunity to rise or stay in the rankings, which may affect their ability to qualify for the majors.

“These ratings points are a critical component of why the best players in the world are here, in this pure and real competition against the depth of field that we have,” Monahan – who is a member of OWGR’s eight-man board of directors – said Sunday of the predicament.