Jay Monahan is back with a bang as the returning PGA Tour commissioner sent an eye-catching memo to players headlined by talk of how Tour loyalists will get rewarded for staying put and a "task force" to deal with disciplining returning LIV golfers.
Monahan is back at his desk following illness and one of his first acts was to try and keep players informed about the ongoing talks over the final deal with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF).
And he says that top of the list in the talks is just how players who turned down huge sums to stay on the PGA Tour will be rewarded, and how LIV Golf players who wish to return will be disciplined.
The 53-year-old has lost a lot of trust among the playing membership for the huge about-face he did in shaking hands with PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan - and after players such as Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele called for greater transparency this memo could be a sign of things to come.
Monahan sounds keen to stress players will be involved all the way - with rewarding those who turned down the Saudi millions being at the forefront of the commissioner's thinking.
"Two key components of our work towards a definitive agreement centre on the Player Benefit Program and Player Discipline (for those LIV players who may endeavour to reapply for membership), and we are making steady progress toward a recommendation on each of those elements," Monahan wrote in his memo.
Monahan says that the Player Benefit Program "will be financially significant in total and incremental to our planned compensation package" for those players who stayed on the PGA Tour.
He also said that they would "evaluate each potential component and run analyses to determine how players from across the membership would benefit" as he looks to ensure that even players lower down the PGA Tour standings are compensated.
The commissioner, who could face a fight to keep his job if player relations aren't smoothed over, is keen to insist that they have "obtained player input that is helping to inform the potential structure" of this planned compensation plan.
On the flip side, although the likes of Dustin Johnson and Cameron Smith and many other LIV Golf players have shown little interest in returning to the PGA Tour - some others might, but it will not be easy.
Monahan knows his loyalty must lie with the PGA Tour players who stayed, so those who took the PIF millions will have to pay to come back.
"A task force is evaluating developing potential pathways back to the PGA Tour for LIV players who who wish to reapply in the future," Monahan added in the memo.
Jay Monahan sent a memo to PGA Tour players this evening. - Tour does NOT support proposed rollback rule on elite competition- Search committee formed for Randall Stephenson replacement- Player Benefit Program ($$$) for Tour loyalists is central part of negotiation w/ PIF pic.twitter.com/O6213QmpThJuly 27, 2023
Another point of interest was the appointment of the Raine Group's Colin Neville as "a third-party advisor" for the Player Directors and the overall playing membership to use to help decipher the finer points of talks moving forward.
Neville helped broker the sale of Premier League side Chelsea to Todd Boehly, and is part of the process of selling Manchester United.
Crucially, he helped set-up the Premier Golf League - the original challenger to the PGA Tour that became the blueprint for LIV Golf - and is known as an advisor for some players on Tour so it is hoped he can help the deal go through smoothly.
Monahan also said the 2024 PGA Tour schedule would be released to players on August 8 with "record-breaking" prize money on offer as they return to a calendar year schedule for the first time in a decade.
