“I would consider myself pretty uninformed” - Xander Schauffele critiques Jay Monahan's leadership, citing need for trust building
Like everyone else in the golf world, Xander Schauffele listened to Jay Monahan's press conference on Tuesday, March 12. Apparently, Schauffele was not happy with what he heard, saying "I would consider myself pretty uninformed."
Xander Schauffele is at TPC Sawgrass to participate in THE PLAYERS Championship 2024. This Tuesday, he was also scheduled to give a pre-event press conference and the commissioner's leadership surfaced as one of the topics.
This was part of what Xander Schauffele had to say about it (via NUCLR GOLF):
"I would say in my book he's got a long way to go. He could be the guy, but in my book, he's got a long way to go to gain the trust of the membership. I'm sure he's got the support of the board, since they were with him making some of those decisions, but for me personally he's got quite a way to go…"
"To be completely honest, I would consider myself pretty uninformed. Haven't really sought out a whole lot of information just because, you know, when I felt like I did, I didn't get any."
In July 2023, Xander Schauffele made similar statements regarding Jay Monahan. It was only a few weeks ago that the negotiations between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia were made public.
This is what Xander Schauffele said on that occasion (via The Guardian):
"I don’t trust people easily. He had my trust and he has a lot less of it now. So I don’t stand alone when I say that. He’ll just have to answer our questions when he comes back."
What did Jay Monahan say to Xander Schauffele and the world?
Jay Monahan devoted his Tuesday press conference from THE PLAYERS Championship headquarters to providing information on the course of negotiations with PIF. These negotiations should have been concluded on December 31 last year, but were extended as the work was not completed.
This is part of what Monahan said:
"I recently met with the governor of the PIF, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, and our negotiations are accelerating as we spend time together. While we have several key issues that we still need to work through, we have a shared vision to quiet the noise and unlock golf's worldwide potential ..."
"I do believe that negotiating a deal with PIF is the best outcome … I think an ultimate deal would be in the best interest of the game and ultimately would be in the best interest of the tour ..."
"If we don't negotiate a deal, then I think ultimately we're back in the same posture that we're in, and we haven't unified our game and taken advantage of this unique point in time ..."
The commissioner also referred to a scenario in which an agreement is not reached with PIF. He said that, should this happen, they would continue to work with the rest of their current partners, including Strategic Sports Group (SSG).