PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan will not be in attendance during this week’s U.S. Open as he deals with a “medical situation” – but at least one prominent golf insider thinks his absence is a precursor to an exit.
Alan Shipnuck, a prominent golf writer and insider who most recently made headlines for writing an “unauthorized” biography of Phil Mickelson, appeared on ESPN’s “Outside The Lines” Wednesday and suggested that Monahan’s medical situation actually may be him laying the groundwork for a “graceful exit” from the Tour.
“Monahan coming back and reclaiming his duty is not a sure thing,” Shipnuck said on the show, “I mean, he was already on thin ice with the top guys. There was a lot hurt feelings. There were calls for his removal already among Tour players. This could be the beginning of a graceful exit.”
Monahan raised eyebrows with the timing of his medical leave, which came a week after the Tour announced a merger with the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which bankrolls the rival LIV Golf circuit – ending a civil war in the sport that originated with the renegade tour’s inception two years ago.
The move has turned the commissioner into a highly unpopular figure among the sport’s top players – especially the ones who remained loyal to the tour and turned down massive paydays that the Saudis were offering (and gave to players such as Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, and Dustin Johnson).
With Monahan’s heel turn, ultimately taking the Saudi money that he railed against for two years, many of the PGA Tour’s top players are not happy with him.
Shipnuck also dove into a metaphor about Monahan being “in the background” during the tour’s toughest moments as LIV Golf was getting started – while the players were “on the front lines,” forced to answer difficult questions as golf was being disrupted.
Now, with Monahan away from the U.S. Open – one of the biggest weeks of the year in golf, though run by the USGA instead of the PGA Tour – Shipnuck suggested this could be him shifting away from the public eye again, letting the players answer questions instead.
“You can cite health concerns. You can say he negotiated this piece and then pass the rest of this on to somebody else. So, I don’t think we can assume he’s coming back,” Shipnuck said.
It should be noted that Monahan was not scheduled to do a press conference at the U.S. Open.
Shipnuck later tweeted that a source close to Monahan said he was “doing well and enjoying the mandatory downtime,” and that he was eager to get back to work.
We will see how quickly that happens – if at all.
The U.S. Open teed off Thursday morning from Los Angeles Country Club.