"There’s still a whole lot that no one really knows" - Rickie Fowler, other PGA Tour pros weigh in after Jay Monahan's Tuesday player meeting
Ahead of the FedEx St. Jude Championship 2023, Jay Monahan attended his first player meeting since returning to work on Tuesday, August 8. Although only 25 pros attended the meeting at the TPC Southwind Clubhouse, the PGA Tour commissioner received certain support from the players.
Rickie Fowler, who was present, spoke with Associated Press and shared details of the meeting. He stated that there were still quite a few things that needed to be cleared and all they were doing was to trust the leadership and move forward.
"There's still a whole lot that no one really knows, and we don't know. It's just continuing to trust that leadership and everyone is doing what's best for all of us and the tour moving forward, " Fowler said. "Some of that was talked about in calls before this. There really wasn't that many guys in the meeting, or less than I thought there would have been."
Fowler also weighed in on if the PGA Tour was sustainable enough and if there were other investors interested.
"There are a lot of parts that have to come together. You obviously have to get a majority, if not unanimous, as far as board and player support," he said. "I would say that you'd have to sell everyone on that this is the best option for the tour, for the players, for everyone moving forward. I'm not saying that's not possible."
Tom Hoge was also present in the meeting and shared his thoughts. He highlighted that it was his ninth year on the PGA Tour attending player meetings, but "not a lot comes from it."
It is pertinent to note that only 25 professional players were present in the meeting. Two of the newly appointed Player Directors were also present at the TPC Southwind. Rory McIlroy joined just a few minutes before the meeting ended and Patrick Cantlay did not attend at all.
"Jay is a very qualified leader" - Two Major champions of the season extend their support to Jay Monahan in the midst of PGA-PIF merger
The PGA Tour, the DP World Tour, and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) dropped a bomb of news into the Golfing fraternity earlier in June. Soon after the merger deal was announced, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan took a leave to address his health condition.
However, due to unaccountability, a lot of players were not very happy with the PGA Chief. On July 17, Monahan announced his return and has been constantly working on addressing the player's issues.
Ahead of the FedEx St. Jude Championship 2023, the Champion Golfer of The Year, Brian Harman, came out in support of the PGA Commissioner. As quoted by Golf Week, he said:
"I think Jay is a very qualified leader for our organizations."
Apart from Harman, the reigning Masters Champion Jon Rahm also spoke about the leadership skills of Jay Monahan. He emphasized the 53-year-old's tremendous work during the COVID pandemic.
"I think he should have the opportunity right now to finish this off the way he did. I think we're quickly forgetting how well he managed a lot of things. He did an amazing job in COVID and kept a lot of people employed," Rahm said.
As soon as he rejoined the office, Jay Monahan even sent a memo to players, addressing the key details of the merger deal.