Jay Monahan speaks so sparingly that the PGA Tour commissioner had plenty of time to plot and plan precisely what his message would be during traditional end-of-season media duties in Atlanta last Tuesday. When pressed on even light detail of how a framework agreement between the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Group may take on more formal status, Monahan was completely noncommittal. The 53-year-old may soon realise, if he has not already, that Saudis bearing billions do so with more than a passing interest in how their buck is being deployed. He who pays the piper, and all that.
What Monahan appears very keen to stress is that he is working for the good of the PGA Tour. This is fair enough, in theory – the organisation pays him $14m a year, according to the most recent report – but belies the sense that elite golf is now all about a collective good. Monahan at least left the impression the DP World Tour, LIV and various other related parties have to fall into line.
