PGA Tour Boss Admits Mistakes in 'Framework Agreement' Rollout But Holds Firm: 'It Was the Right Move'

Jay Monahan met for the first time with reporters since time away due to anxiety and said the sport is going to be in 'a very positive place' by year's end.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Jay Monahan acknowledged Wednesday the mistakes he made during the rollout of the June 6 "framework agreement" between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, saying he wished he had handled the situation differently but ultimately believes it will be best for the future of the Tour and that discussions are on the correct path.

Monahan, speaking to reporters for the first time since returning to work on July 17 following a health-related issue that he acknowledged was due to anxiety, offered few updates on the on-going negotiations, saying he is confident that will be concluded by the end of the year.

In an hour-long roundtable media session at TPC Southwind, site of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, Monahan took questions on a variety of topics while attempting to project a positive tone about the future, while also admitting he still must regain player trust in the aftermath of the proposed alliance between the Tour and the backers of the LIV Golf League.

"It was ineffective and as a result there was a lot of misinformation," Monahan said. “And anytime you have misinformation that can lead to mistrust. And that’s my responsibility. That’s me and me alone. I take full accountability for that. I apologize for putting players on their back foot.

“But ultimately it was the right move for the PGA Tour. I firmly believe that as we go forward time will bear that out. It was the right move and obviously we’re now in a position with NewCo that provides the opportunity to have productive conversations."

Later, Monahan said: "I understand this is a setback. And I’m entirely determined to get this right for our players and all of our tournaments and all of our partners. And that’s where we’re going to end up.

“I understand the position I’m in in the short term. But I think the real answer to that question is where we are at the end of this year is going to be a very positive place and, specifically, enter into this framework agreement and set up NewCo and put ourselves into a position to unify our sport and put an end to the conflict that has existed."

LIV Golf’s launch in June 2022 created a fracture in the game as several prominent players signed lucrative contracts to play for the league funded by the PIF. In response, the PGA Tour and Monahan took a hard line, suspending PGA Tour players who joined LIV or prohibiting those who played in events from competing in PGA Tour events for a minimum of a year.

A lawsuit accusing the PGA Tour of restraint of trade was filed by several LIV players and eventually LIV Golf itself joined, leading to a countersuit and considerable animosity.

But sometime after the Masters, PGA Tour policy board members Jimmy Dunne and Ed Herlihy reached out to Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the PIF. And soon secret negotiations took place along with Monahan, leading to the June 6 framework agreement that shocked the golf world.

Monahan admitted impatience led to a hasty rollout; he regrets not heading to Toronto, site of the RBC Canadian Open, to inform players before the news went public.

And a week later, he took a leave on the eve of the U.S. Open.

"I think the reality for me was that I was dealing with anxiety, which created physical and mental health issues and challenges for me," Monahan said. "And I realized that I needed to step away and to deal with that and understand how to develop the skills to deal with that going forward.

"To step away at that point in time was very difficult for me, but I needed to take care of myself and my family, and ultimately come back here stronger than I've ever been to lead the PGA Tour forward. And my family and my doctors supported me coming back."

Monahan was joined by PGA Tour vice president Tyler Dennis, who said he’s been involved in several meetings with the PIF and the DP World Tour, including one last week. But, like Monahan, he offered no details as to where things stand.

Scottie Scheffler, who attended a player meeting on Tuesday with Monahan, said the Tour "still has a long way to go."

"You have the framework agreement, which nobody is entirely sure what that means, and then you've got whatever they're working towards," Scheffler said. “The position where I'm sitting now, it just seems like they've got a long way to go in that sense to where there's still not really much to say. We still don't really have a great idea as to what is going on right now."

Under the framework agreement, the PGA Tour—known as PGA Tour Inc.—would operate as we know it, as a 501(c)(6) non-profit organization. The 2024 FedEx Cup schedule was released Monday with a new series of "Signature Events" but the same basic concept that has been in place for years, with the season concluding with the FedEx Cup playoffs.

"NewCo" has been the working name for the proposed for-profit entity that is going to be called PGA Tour Enterprises. It will be an LLC comprised of the PGA Tour's assets, DP World Tour and PIF and how it looks is unclear. Monahan said again that the PIF would be a minority investor in PGA Tour Enterprises and would not speculate on how LIV Golf might look going forward other than to say what is in the agreement to this point, that it will receive a "good-faith" evaluation.

The LIV Golf League, which this week is playing the 11th event of a 14-tournament schedule at Bedminister in New Jersey, has taken a "business as usual" approach and is making plans for a full schedule in 2024, with some agreements with venues already in 2025.

Even if an agreement is reached at the end of this year, Monahan would not say when he expects anything new to be in place. He said the Tour is not seeking any other outside investors.

Several other topics were covered during the media session:

> Monahan would not give any more detail on the Tuesday resignation of longtime Tour executive Andy Pazder, who worked at the Tour since 1989 and was a vice president in charge of competitions.

> Asked about the committee that is studying how players who remained loyal to the PGA Tour and how those with LIV Golf might come back to the PGA Tour, Dennis said: "We’re not far enough along to discuss it. As we’ve been very clear, as it’s shown in the framework agreement, we are going to follow our tournament regulations.

"We had a lot of questions about that last night (at the player meeting) and there’s a range of opinions across the membership. We are really trying to take into account all of that thinking. But ultimately we have clearly articulated to everyone that we’re going to follow our tournament regulations."

> There’s been considerable speculation that one of the reasons the PGA Tour would entertain discussions with the PIF is due to overreaching on the new Signature Events model that will see nine tournaments have $20 million purses in 2024 with the Players Championship offering $25 million. Monahan said, "we will have to dip into our reserves far less" and suggested, without being specific, that title sponsors are taking on the brunt of the increases. "We also will have considerably more revenue through 2024," he said.

> Monahan said he was confident an agreement would be reached by the end of the year: “Again, for us to reach an agreement, we've got to to have approval and buy‑in from our board. We're hopeful that we're going to reach an agreement, but ultimately these conversations—we're going to get to a place where we feel like we have something that we recommend, and if we feel like we're in that position, then I think you can assume that you think it's going to get done.

“If we're not successful, I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there. At this point in time, we've entered into the framework agreement to, in good faith, try and complete these discussions and complete the agreement."

> Asked if there is a contingency plan and if the Tour is sustainable without a deal, Monahan said it would be without specifics.

“We have identified a framework to a future that has the PIF as a minority investor in the PGA Tour where we have the proper safeguards in place to protect our model from a governance standpoint and from a control standpoint. There are a lot of conversations that led to the framework. Admittedly, there's a lot more conversations that need to happen to complete the definitive.

“The expectation is that we'll complete an agreement, but there are always contingencies, and the PGA Tour, as I said earlier, part of the reason that you enter into the conversation is because you're in as strong a position as we are in. There is the short‑term and there is the long‑term. Looking out over the horizon, we feel like this is the right move for the PGA Tour to create a new commercial model, a NewCo that allows PIF to invest in our business, which is what they want to do as a minority investor, and to be able to grow the PGA Tour, make it more rewarding for players and fans going forward."