x
Skip to main content
Golf Logo
InsideGolf Join Now  / Log In
Preaching ‘legacy, not leverage,’ PGA Tour chief Jay Monahan stops playing nice
SHARE
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share by Email
Golf Logo
  • News
    • Latest
      • News
      • Features
      • Shows
      • PGA Tour Schedule
    • Series
      • Tour Confidential
      • Monday Finish
      • Hot Mic
      • Rogers Report
    • Shows
      • The Scoop
      • Subpar
      • Seen & Heard
  • Instruction
    • Game Improvement
      • Driving
      • Approach Shots
      • Bunker Shots
      • Short Game
      • Putting
      • Rules
      • Fitness
    • Series
      • Top 100 Teachers
      • Rules Guy
      • The Etiquetteist
    • Shows
      • Warming Up
      • Play Smart
      • Short Game Chef
      • Pros Teaching Joes
  • Gear
    • Clubs
      • Drivers
      • Irons
      • Hybrids
      • Fairway Woods
      • Wedges
      • Putters
    • Other Gear
      • Balls
      • Shoes
      • Apparel
      • Golf Accessories
    • Series
      • ClubTest
      • Winner’s Bag
    • Shows
      • Fully Equipped
  • Travel & Lifestyle
    • Travel
      • Course Finder
      • Courses
      • Resorts
    • Lifestyle
      • Accessories
      • Celebrities
      • Food
      • Style
      • Betting Advice
    • Shows
      • Super Secrets
      • Destination Golf
  • Shop
    • Shop
      • Clubs
      • Shafts
      • Training Aids
      • Balls
      • Bags
      • Technology
      • Apparel
      • Accessories
      • Our Picks
      • Shop All
    • Collections
      • The GOLF Collection
      • The Birdie Juice Collection
      • The Fully Equipped Collection
      • Shop All
  • Newsletters
    • Sign Up for GOLF’s Newsletters
      • Hot Mic
      • Monday Finish
      • Play Smart
      • Our Picks
      • Top Stories
      • Sign Up for All
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Features
    • Shows
    • PGA Tour Schedule
  • Instruction
    • All Instruction
    • Driving
    • Approach Shots
    • Bunker Shots
    • Short Game
    • Putting
    • Rules
    • Fitness
  • Gear
    • All Gear
    • Drivers
    • Irons
    • Hybrids
    • Fairway Woods
    • Wedges
    • Putters
    • Balls
    • Shoes
    • Apparel
    • Golf Accessories
  • Travel & Lifestyle
    • All Travel
    • All Lifestyle
    • Course Finder
    • Courses
    • Resorts
    • Accessories
    • Celebrities
    • Food
    • Style
    • Betting Advice
  • Series
    • Tour Confidential
    • Monday Finish
    • Hot Mic
    • Rogers Report
    • Rules Guy
    • The Etiquetteist
    • ClubTest
    • Winner’s Bag
  • Shows
    • The Scoop
    • Subpar
    • Seen & Heard
    • Warming Up
    • Play Smart
    • Short Game Chef
    • Pros Teaching Joes
    • Fully Equipped
    • Super Secrets
    • Destination Golf
  • Shop
    • Clubs
    • Shafts
    • Training Aids
    • Balls
    • Bags
    • Technology
    • Apparel
    • Accessories
    • The GOLF Collection
    • The Birdie Juice Collection
    • The Fully Equipped Collection
  • Newsletters
    • Hot Mic
    • Monday Finish
    • Play Smart
    • Top Stories
    • Our Picks
    • Sign Up for All
InsideGolf Join Now  / Log In
InsideGolf

InsideGOLF: +$140 value for $39.99

Join Today
News

Preaching ‘legacy, not leverage,’ PGA Tour chief Jay Monahan stops playing nice

By: James Colgan
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Follow on Instagram
March 8, 2022
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share by Email
jay monahan players championship presser

Jay Monahan's fiery Players press conference revealed a PGA Tour commissioner ready for a fight.

Getty Images

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The words sounded the way they usually do coming out of Jay Monahan’s mouth: as if they’d been plucked from a Public Relations textbook.

They were delivered by the PGA Tour commissioner in careful, measured clauses and punctuated by long, attention-grabbing pauses. As is Monahan’s tradition, his responses contained the minimum amount of information needed to answer the questions, if they answered them at all.

But even if Monahan’s words sounded like they belonged at a shareholders’ meeting, they landed upon the golf world like a powerful right hook.

Monahan’s Players Championship state of the union press conference Tuesday morning was unlike anything we’ve heard from the commissioner in his half-decade atop golf’s largest professional tour. In the span of 45 minutes, the typically cautious commish delivered blow after blow to the Tour’s competitors, detractors and ill-wishers.

News
jay monahan
Is Phil Mickelson suspended? Monahan’s answers give us clues
By: Dylan Dethier

The press conference began at TPC Sawgrass promptly at 11 a.m. ET. By 11:01, Monahan had landed his first shot.

“Before I make some additional comments on the Players Championship, I wanted to take a moment to address all of the news, discourse and conjecture lately about the world of professional golf,” Monahan said. “The PGA Tour is moving on. We have too much momentum and too much to accomplish to be consistently distracted by rumors of other golf leagues and their attempts to disrupt our players, our partners and most importantly our fans from enjoying the Tour.”

He looked up from the lectern and paused.

“We are and we always will be focused on legacy, not leverage,” he said, alluding to Phil Mickelson’s choice of words in his now-infamous interview with golf writer Alan Shipnuck.

Jay Monahan is breathing flames about rival tours at his Players state of the union:

"We are focused on legacy, not leverage."

🔥🔥🔥

— James Colgan (@jamescolgan26) March 8, 2022

Mickelson has stepped away from golf indefinitely in the fallout from the interview, and his future with the PGA Tour remains uncertain.

Monahan refused to say whether the Tour had suspended Mickelson for his comments, citing Tour policy not to share disciplinary matters publicly, but he did briefly address the affair.

“The ball is in his court,” Monahan said. “He has said that he’s stepping away and he wants time for reflection. That’s something that I and we are going to respect and honor. When he’s ready to come back to the PGA Tour, we’re going to have that conversation. That’s a conversation I look forward to.”

A conversation Monahan won’t entertain, though, is the possibility of a rival tour emerging. Monahan refuted Greg Norman’s claims that Monahan had “bullied” players into staying with the PGA Tour (“that’s not how I operate”) and refused to mention Norman or his proposed league by name.

On the topic of whether Norman’s LIV Golf Investments proposed a long-term threat to the Tour, Monahan spoke with supreme confidence.

“There isn’t [a long-term threat facing the Tour],” he said. “We control our own destiny … So long as we focus on the things that we control, which is what I’ve always tried to do and what we’ve always tried to do as a team, I think we’re going to win, we’re going to grow, and I’m not looking over my shoulder, I’m looking forward. I’m excited about what’s ahead of me and what’s ahead of this organization.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by GOLF.com // GOLF Magazine (@golf_com)

For all his optimism, Monahan is smart enough to realize the role the Tour played in creating the Phil mess. If there is a long-term threat to the Tour’s dominance, it would seem to exist among the constituency.

The players have been emboldened by the rival tour developments, and have seized the opportunity to air their grievances against the Tour establishment. Shortly before Monahan spoke on Tuesday, Tour poster-child Rory McIlroy issued a rare public slight of the commissioner’s office.

“I think the one thing that the Tour in general could do a better job at is transparency, whether that be with — yeah, just with everything,” McIlroy, who heads up the Tour’s Player Advisory Council, said. “I think transparency and maybe it not being as closed a shop. I’ve always felt that a few of the bans or suspensions, I think that should all be announced. I think that should be more transparent. I’ve always said that.”

News
rory mcilroy talks to reporters during press conference at Players Championship
Rory McIlroy wants PGA Tour fines and suspensions made public
By: Sean Zak

Monahan didn’t blink.

“I don’t think you can ever be good enough on that front, and I take that on myself, and I think you’ll see us continue to be more transparent and answer any questions that we think are on the minds of our players,” he said. “We have nothing to hide, and we’re proud of what this organization represents, the values it conveys, the way that we run our business.”

Monahan’s remarks Tuesday — and the manner in which he delivered them — revealed a different side of the man: the tight-buttoned, tight-lipped suit had been replaced by the street-fighting hockey player from outside Boston. Perhaps most impressive, he’d done so without ever once raising his voice.

The commissioner’s press conference represented not only the PGA Tour’s first and most forceful rebuke of the developments of the last six months in golf but also a warning shot to anyone standing in Monahan’s way: If you’re coming for golf’s throne, you’d better be ready to fight for it.

The Southie accent is long gone, but the right hook still has some juice.

“I wake up every day assuming someone is trying to take my lunch,” Monahan said, expressing no emotion. “That’s the way I operate. That’s the way we operate as a team.”

Latest In News

3 hours ago

Why Rory McIlroy's Masters win was 'weirdest day ever' for Shane Lowry

5 hours ago

Youtube golfer explains appeal for 'indefinite' PGA Tour suspension for LIV event

5 hours ago

Why Rory McIlroy’s parents missed his emotional Masters win

7 hours ago

In 6 silent minutes, CBS delivered a Masters broadcast masterpiece

James Colgan

Golf.com Editor

James Colgan is a news and features editor at GOLF, writing stories for the website and magazine. He manages the Hot Mic, GOLF’s media vertical, and utilizes his on-camera experience across the brand’s platforms. Prior to joining GOLF, James graduated from Syracuse University, during which time he was a caddie scholarship recipient (and astute looper) on Long Island, where he is from. He can be reached at james.colgan@golf.com.

  • Author Twitter Account
  • Author Instagram Account

Related Articles

Gear
How do the best fitters in the world work with the best players in the world?

How to find the perfect golf ball for your game, according to a Tour fitter

By: Johnny Wunder
Gear

This is a sleeper stat on Tour we need to pay attention to

By: Johnny Wunder
News
jordan spieth

Jordan Spieth shares Masters thoughts: Firm Augusta, Rory’s fix and more

By: Sean Zak
News
rory mcilroy and his uber driver, aquaman

Inside Rory McIlroy’s $995 Uber ride — and how ‘Aquaman’ saved the day

By: Alan Bastable
News
Split image of Brandel Chamblee and Rory McIlroy at the 2025 Players Championship.

Brandel Chamblee taunts LIV pros over big Players TV ratings

By: Kevin Cunningham
Putters
Rory McIlroy lines up a putt at TPC Sawgrass.

Get a TaylorMade Spider putter like Players Champ Rory McIlroy

By: Jack Hirsh
News
Rory McIlroy and JJ Spaun on No. 17 at TPC Sawgrass.

Winners and Losers, 2025 Players Championship | Monday Finish

By: Dylan Dethier
News
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland poses with the trophy after defeating J.J. Spaun in a playoff in the final round to win THE PLAYERS Championship 2025

Rory McIlroy’s talent is not relatable. But so much else about him is

By: Michael Bamberger
News
Rory McIlroy celebrates a made putt during the final round of the 2025 Players Championship.

Rory McIlroy's Players-winning week illuminated his many layers

By: Josh Schrock
Sign up for GOLF's Newsletters
Get the latest news, the hottest instruction tips, new product releases, golf media insider reports and more delivered directly to your inbox. Choose your favorites now.
Sign Up
Categories
  • News
  • Instruction
  • Gear
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
Services
  • Masthead
  • GOLF Media Kit
  • GOLF Magazine Customer Service
  • TERMS OF SERVICE
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • Opt-out of Ads/Sharing
  • Your Privacy Choices
Social
  • facebook
  • x
  • instagram
  • youtube
Membership
InsideGOLF Logo
More than $140 Value for JUST $39.99

INCLUDES 12 SRIXON Z-STAR XV GOLF BALLS, 1 YR OF GOLF MAGAZINE, $20 FAIRWAY JOCKEY CREDIT - AND MUCH MORE!

LEARN MORE

© 2025 EB Golf Media LLC. An 8AM Golf Affiliated Brand. All Rights Reserved. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. If you buy a linked product, GOLF.COM may earn a fee. Pricing may vary.

Go to mobile version