Monahan: ‘I Don’t See PGA Tour and LIV Coexisting’

One could argue that the LIV Golf threat took PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan off-guard—at least at the beginning when a handful of golfers that included Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and Sergio Garcia teed off in LIV’s first event in London back in June.

After issuing indefinite suspensions to those playing for the rival circuit, Monahan has been on the offensive since more players have defected to the new league, adding more prestigious events to the schedule and bumping up purses.

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While an antitrust lawsuit by LIV was filed, and then a countersuit was issued in response, the commissioner told ESPN that he doesn’t see the two leagues patching things up now that the courts are involved.

When asked if he would come together with LIV Golf, Monahan said:

“I think words and actions are important. I think it’s impractical when you look at the fact that certain players have sued the PGA Tour, their employer has sued the PGA Tour. It’s not in the cards… They’ve gone down their path, and I think we have been pretty consistent that we’re going down ours, and I don’t see [us coexisting] happening.”

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, in an interview with ESPN, says that the Tour and LIV Golf won’t come together — and they can’t co-exist. https://t.co/FKPQCrhVD3

— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) October 3, 2022

Monahan was also asked why he believes the PGA Tour will outlast LIV Golf.

He answered:

“Because the game, at the highest level, is about aspiration. It’s about context. And any young kid today, any kid that’s going to be playing the game going forward, ultimately is going to want to win the biggest championships, the biggest tournaments, and put themselves in a position and on a path over the course of their golf journey to get to the PGA Tour and to again, achieve at the highest level.”

LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman has said in the past his goal would be to work with and around the PGA Tour, but at this juncture, that seems extremely unlikely.

Cover Image Via Yahoo News