“No Unity or Path Forward With Him Involved”: Phil Mickelson Calls for PGA Tour Commissioner To Resign

Phil Mickelson took to social media to call out the PGA Tour commissioner, Jay Monahan, to leave his coveted seat, blaming him for not listening to him prior to his sudden and unplanned move to LIV, because he had asked Monahan plenty of times to bring bigger investors for better events with elevated prize purses. But Monahan paid no heed to his pleas. 

He added, “there’s no unity or path forward with him involved”

Well said. In addition to strong arming LIV players, losing trust with his players, and all credibility with his staff, golf is in this situation entirely because of him. There’s no unity or path forward with him involved in my opinion as well. https://t.co/68x7U6Qb68

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) November 29, 2023

He replied to his thread on Twitter and wrote,

“In addition to strong arming LIV players, losing trust with his players, and all credibility with his staff, golf is in this situation entirely because of him”.

Phil Mickelsom highlighted that the commissioner lost the faith of the golfers because the signing of the merger between the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and the DP World Tour was carried out under the table. Even Tiger Woods reflected on his frustrations on this matter. 

Like Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods Visibly Frustrated Over PGA-LIV Future

Woods, in a press conference post round one of the Hero World Challenge, talked about how the signing of the agreement was a shock to the players, and his inclusion in the management was a dire need of the hour.

“So quickly without any input or any information about it, it was just thrown out there. I was very surprised…We were very frustrated with what happened…we were not going to be left out of the process like we were. So part of that process was putting me on the board and accepting that position”.

But Woods ensured that the finalization of the agreement by December 31st would look forward to a better future for the PGA Tour.

“December 31st is coming up…we would like to implement some of these changes that have not taken place. The guys, all the player directors have spent so many hours and worked tireless hours to make sure that we have the best deal for all the players”. 

While Phil Mickelson has lost faith in Monahan for his doings, Woods still chooses to believe him. “I did have faith in Jay and in what he could do going forward”. He concluded the interview by saying that whatever happened in the past cannot be repeated, and he will make sure that it never happens again. 

It is unlikely that Monahan will be replaced before the PGA Tour gets financial backing for the next year. Either it would be LIV or some other contributor. For now, despite Monahan’s assurances, it seems unlikely that the framework agreement will be finazlized before December 31st.

About the author

Suchita Chakraborty

Suchita Chakraborty is a senior golf writer at The SportsRush. She did her post-graduation at St. Xavier's University. For a year now, she has developed a riveting inclination toward golf, with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy being her top-tier motivational figures to indulge in the sport. She even lives by the words of the Hall of Famer, "You can always become better", which impels her to excel every day. Her strong suit in golf is covering the LPGA Tour, especially the nooks and crannies of the international event, the Solheim Cup. As a pastime amusement, Suchita also engages herself in reading about golf controversies. Her favorite pick is ‘LIV and Let Die’ by Alan Shipnuck, which covers the PGA-LIV beef.

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