Jay Monahan temporarily steps away from PGA Tour Commissioner duties after suffering ‘medical issue’

Jay Monahan is recovering from an undisclosed medical situation, according to a PGA Tour statement.

The Tour commissioner, who has faced severe scrutiny after merging with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, has temporarily handed over his responsibilities to chief operating officer Ron Price and executive vice president Tyler Dennis.

While no details have been provided about the nature of the 53-year-old’s condition, the situation comes at a time when his position has been called into question by players on his tour.

A joint statement from Monahan and the Tour’s policy board read: ‘Jay Monahan informed the PGA TOUR Policy Board that he is recuperating from a medical situation.

‘The Board fully supports Jay and appreciates everyone respecting his privacy.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan is no longer head of the under-pressure entity after stepping down with an unspecified medical concern

 Tyler Dennis and Ron Price will largely co-share the temporary vacancy in Monahan’s absence

‘During Jay’s absence, Ron Price, Chief Operating Officer, and Tyler Dennis, Executive Vice President & President, PGA TOUR, will lead the day-to-day operations of the PGA TOUR with the assistance of the great team Jay has built, ensuring seamless continuity. We will provide further updates as appropriate.’

Monahan’s medical situation comes a week after Monahan stunned the golf world by announcing the PGA Tour had ended its battle with the Public Investment Fund and LIV Golf by agreeing to a commercial business partnership.

Monahan, 53, spent nearly two months working on the deal with two PGA Tour board members, investment banker Jimmy Dunne and New York attorney Ed Herlihy, without any players’ knowledge.

Almost all of them said they were shocked. Some said they felt betrayed. The deal came nearly a year after Monahan made pointed remarks about LIV Golf’s source of funding, particularly as it related to any Saudi connection to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

When a news outlet broke an embargo, some players learned of the deal on social media before the tour could email them details. Monahan then faced a meeting with players at the Canadian Open that was described as intense and included a suggestion that he be replaced.

‘I recognize that people are going to call me a hypocrite,’ Monahan said in a Zoom call with the media after the meeting. 

‘Anytime I said anything, I said it with the information that I had at that moment, and I said it based on someone that´s trying to compete for the PGA Tour and our players. I accept those criticisms. But circumstances do change. I think that in looking at the big picture and looking at it this way, that´s what got us to this point.’

The tour said its chief operating officer, Ron Price, and its president, Tyler Dennis, would be in charge while Monahan recovers.

LIV CEO Greg Norman and governor of the Saudi Arabia PIF, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, were thrilled with the merger between the Tour and LIV Golf, which sent shockwaves around the world

‘Our thoughts are with Jay and his family during his absence, and we wish him a speedy recovery,’ Price and Dennis said in a statement. ‘We have a strong and experienced leadership team in place, and our priority is to support our players and continue the work underway to further lead the PGA Tour and golf’s future.’

Monahan was expected to meet with players and the media next week at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut.

Players at the U.S. Open have said they don’t have details of how the partnership among the PGA Tour, European tour and the Public Investment Fund will work or how it will shape the tour and LIV Golf after this year.

Monahan has said it was a ‘framework agreement’ and still being finalized. Still to come is how players such as Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson who left the PGA Tour for LIV and its $100-plus million signing bonuses could return – and how to reward players who stayed loyal.