World No. 2 Rory McIlroy has defended PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan despite last year’s highly-controversial announcement of a framework deal with Saudi Arabia’s PIF and LIV Golf.
The PGA Tour and Monahan had previously ruled out an agreement with PIF, but the American U-turned last year with a shock announcement of an agreement with the Saudis back in June 2023.
The stunning announcement surprised everyone, including McIlroy, who previously stated: “If LIV Golf was the last place to play golf on Earth, I would retire.”
However, the 34-year-old has recently softened his stance on the opposing Tour in recent weeks with some rumours emerging he may even be the next to sign up following Jon Rahm’s recent high-profile move.
When asked if he stills believes Monahan is the right man to lead the PGA Tour, McIlroy responded: “Yeah, I think so. You look at what Jay has done since he took over. The media rights deal, navigating us through COVID, the strategic alliance with the DP World Tour.
“I would say creating PGA Tour Enterprises, we were just able to accept a billion and a half dollars in the business, people can nit-pick and say he didn’t do this right or didn’t do that right, but if you actually step back and look at the bigger picture, I think the PGA Tour is in a far stronger position than when Jay took over.
“I think some of the reaction to June 6th was warranted, but I think at this point it’s eight months ago, and we all need to move on. We all need to sort of move forward and try to bring the game back together.”
Talks remain ongoing between the PIF, the DP World and PGA Tour to finalise out deal with the original December 31, 2023 extended into 2024.
