PGA Tour boss labelled 'a clown' after Rory McIlroy memo leaked

PGA Tour boss Jay Monahan was put on full blast by golf fans after his statement about Rory McIlroy was leaked to the Golf Channel.

Ben Smith

09 May 2024

PGA Tour boss Jay Monahan was labelled 'a clown' by some golf fans on X after the commissioner's statement to the membership about Rory McIlroy's rejection was leaked.

McIlroy, 35, quit the PGA Tour's policy board five months ago in an apparent huff over how negotiations with LIV Golf's backers were going to ratify last June's framework agreement.

According to his putting coach Brad Faxon, it was a decision that he immediately regretted and, it appeared representatives of Strategic Sports Group and the PIF of Saudi Arabia wanted him back in the room to break the impasse.

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McIlroy is now an advocate for unifying the game completely and has urged his peers to adopt a truly global schedule.

Getting American stars such as Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay to play overseas more often appears to be a sticking point.

There is also the thorny topic of whether players who left for LIV should be allowed to return without any kind of caveat.

The Northern Irishman said as much as he likened the divide in men's professional golf to the Good Friday Agreement.

Unsurprisingly, McIlroy still has the backing of the aforementioned Monahan.

Monahan's email to the Tour membership was obtained by Golf Channel as news spread McIlroy was not getting his seat back.

A short time later, news also filtered through that his relationship with Tiger Woods has 'soured' over the last six months and the 15-time major champion even voted against McIlroy having his seat back.

Monahan's statement to the Tour membership read:

Monahan's statement received a mixed response from X users, to say the least.

"Monahan is such a clown," one wrote. "In other words, he didn't have the votes.

"Every time a politician loses an election, you explain why he didn't take the office the same way: simply a matter of adherence to our governance process."

Another added: "What an absolute disaster."

This person twisted the knife: "Not even the players believe anything Monahan has to say anymore."

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Despite the apparent chaos behind-the-scenes, McIlroy told reporters that he remains upbeat about the future and there are no 'hard-feelings' against the faction of players that didn't want him back.

"I'm still optimistic," McIlroy said.

"I think Webb staying on is a really good thing. I think he's got a really balanced voice in all of this and I think he sees the bigger picture, which is great.

"My fear was if Webb stepped off and it wasn't me that was going in his place, what could potentially happen.

"Yeah, I'm really happy that Webb has made that decision to stay on and serve out the rest of his term."

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