Is Jay Monahan even going to keep his job, and do the PGA Tour members even have the power to oust him?
- When Commish Monahan sat down with PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan on CNBC Tuesday AM to announce the PGA Tour/LIV/PIF partnership (or whatever it’s supposed to be referred to), he must have been feeling pretty confident that his job was safe. Because he royally pissed off a couple of hundred PGA Tour members who didn’t like the news, didn’t like learning about the news the way they did, and certainly don’t want the LIV guys to get a free pass when they return to the PGA/DP tours next season. Big mess. Lots of hurt feelings. And massive money implications, especially for those who didn’t jump to LIV like Hideki, Xander and Zalatoris.
If he keeps his job, how high will Jay Monahan’s salary be?
- The Wall Street Journal previously reported the commissioner took home $8.3 million in 2020. We bet that’s chump change to what he’ll be making now. He too will be going after some of that generational wealth money. The NFL’s Roger Goodell makes around $64 million annually – more than any player. Maybe that was Monahan’s plan all along because we’re hearing that a cool 9-figures could already be in his bank account.
How much did Rory actually know?
- Go back and look at recent interviews from Rory over the last few weeks. His tone went from being on the offensive to downright exhausted, even a little dismissive when asked about LIV. Like he knew the war was over. As the PGA Tour’s designated poster boy for the fight against LIV, he had to have known more than he is currently letting on, at least something. Massive shame to Monahan if they actually kept him in the dark until he got the call from Jimmy Dunne Tuesday at 630a and Twitter started blowing up.
Are players going to be allowed to wear shorts at events in 2024?
- This is silly, but also will be interesting to watch. Who knows how big of a selling point this was for the players that jumped ship from the PGA Tour to LIV but the band will be back together soon. We can say with confidence most enjoy wearing shorts in competition (especially if it’s super-hot). Will dress code be a hot topic moving forward? And what about the music? Stay tuned…
What exactly will the new “collectively owned, for-profit entity” do and what the hell will the name be?
- Will it just be the PGA Tour or will the names be combined somehow? Your guess is as good as ours. Maybe they follow the “Streaming Wars” approach and they go with PGA Tour+ for the team format. What we do know is at least half of the staff better be skilled at crisis PR, because a whole lot of shit is and will continue to be thrown at them for the foreseeable future.
Are the players from LIV still going to get paid their total signing fee?
- With basically half a billion put on the table between Phil, Dustin, Brooks and Bryson alone to join LIV, do they still get all their guaranteed money? Do they have to pay tens of millions of dollars in fines to be reinstated by the PGA Tour that will get pooled and reallocated to the PIP boys (not to be confused with the PIF boys)? It was never really clear if the original LIV player’s bank accounts jumped by 8 or 9 figures when they first signed up. What about all the guys who would have also banked similar sums had they jumped: Rory, JT, Spieth, Xander, Cantlay, Scheff, Hideki, Rhambo, Rickie, etc. Resentment and jealousy will run rampant starting next week at LACC no matter what BS each of these guys say into a mic. They’re human. And we are talking about $75M+ for all those listed above.
How big will all the purses be on the “new” Tour? What about guaranteed money and appearance fees?
- LIV easily made a mockery of the PGA Tour’s designated event structure, and right out the gate blew the Tour’s prize money allocation for all events out of the water. With an embarrassment of dollars (or riyals) pouring into a professional golf next year, will the FedEx Cup prize ($18M in ’22) become the norm for a regular tournament? If so, parents, take your kids straight to the golf course for some lessons. Appearance fees in some form will play a part in the new structure. It has to be coming. Future Headline: John Deere Classic pays $1M appearance fee to Adam Schenk.
Is the PGA Tour guilty of sports washing or is it something different now?
- Just like how global warming is now called climate change, there likely is a focus group right now coming up with a phrase to change the tone of what sports washing actually is (and does). Either way, we now know more than ever that money changes everything. And currently there is a lot of washing taking place around the clock in Ponte Vedra Beach.
Is it possible for Brandel to get even more insufferable? – Stay tuned to find out!
- Brooks threw a dagger into the heart of Brandel Chamblee after the news broke. And Twitter was anxiously awaiting his rebuttal. He did go on the Golf Channel’s breaking news broadcast to speak on the topic (and looked totally dejected) but so far, his fingers have been mostly silent.
Is golf going to become more global?
- Over the last few decades, the PGA Tour started hosting more tournaments all over the world. But in their eyes, everything important (besides The Open Championship) was played on U.S. soil. The best players came to America to make their money and compete against the current greatest. But there is no way this will stay the same with cash flowing in from overseas. Will the Tour Championship move from East Lake to a new course in the Middle East?
Is this all a bad dream, even going back to when LIV was first birthed?
- We hope so.