Rumors have been swirling this week that Jay Monahan will be out as PGA Tour commissioner when the Tour’s merger with the Saudi PIF and potentially other investors is finalized. Phil Mickelson believes those rumors need to become reality for the sake of the Tour and professional golf as a whole.
Phil Mickelson, the six-time major winner who bolted from the Tour to help launch LIV Golf, has made it clear over the last two-plus years that he’s very much not on Team Monahan.
Much of Mickelson’s rebellion against the Tour is focused on the commissioner given his power and his lack of change (deepening the pockets of players) until the Saudi-backed circuit came along and forced the PGA Tour to do so.
The post on X, formerly Twitter, that caught the lefty’s attention came from Bob “Golf” Ball. The lengthy post from Ball, a real estate developer from Oregon, began with the statement “Jay Monahan is out as commissioner of the PGA Tour” before referencing Joel Schuchmann, the Senior VP of Communications for the PGA Tour, calling for Monahan’s job.
This led Mickelson to state that there is no path forward with Monahan as commissioner.
https://x.com/PhilMickelson/status/1729689848020091111?s=20
As for the validity behind Ball’s post, he followed it up with another one of a screenshot of a since-deleted re-post from Schuchmann. It’s a post from Pro Golf Critic calling for the resignation of Monahan and others.
Phil Mickelson’s Word Has No Juice
Ball’s post may have truth behind it, or it may have none at all. Nobody has reported that Monahan will step down or be fired following the agreement of the merger. Nobody has even seriously reported that that’s an option on the table.
What does have truth behind it is Mickelson’s opinion on Monahan has no, or at least shouldn’t have, any bearing on Monahan’s job status. Mickelson is removed from the Tour entirely, and based on the framework of the proposed merger, the commissioner will still have the head seat at the table of professional golf.
While many would say that Mickelson has gone from a villain to somewhat of a savior for professional golf over the last three or so years, it’s tough to spin him jumping on what appears to be nothing but a random rumor calling for Monahan’s job as a win or even a good look for himself.
