The golfing world right now feels a bit like a Charles Dickens novel, particularly a tale of two commissioners. One, ever since ascending to the top step, has been mired in controversy for not dealing with the continuous and persisting issues. The other, brought in temporarily, to continue the growth, has been taking drastic and necessary steps to improve the game.
In the recent No Laying Up podcast hosted by DJ Piehowski and Todd “TC” Schuster, there was a deep in-depth dive into how the two commissioners, PGA Head Jay Monahan and interim LPGA captain Liz Moore, have been faring over the last few weeks.
Jay Monahan needs to step up
On the PGA front, there is some development. There has been some traction regarding the possible deal between the PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed Public Investment Fund that is the chief force behind LIV Golf. Most recently, commissioner Jay Monahan and player director Adam Scott met with President Donald Trump in the White House to get the federal government’s support on the deal. Piehowski addressed the anticipatory air in the golf atmosphere rather nonchalantly, “It seems like something is going to happen. It seems people behind the scenes are very excited that something is going to happen And I just remain unclear of what that something is. ”
The reason for the meeting was more than likely to discuss the fine print as well as to accelerate the deal. Considering there is a foreign entity involved, it’s highly likely for the deal to be stalled due to bureaucratic interference. Schuster does not trust Monahan, who has already delayed this deal for more than a year. Initial talks about a possible merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf were in place in 2023. Schuster was a bit more admonishing about Monahan. “It has been 5 years of this bulls**t. Jay Monahan has strung us along at every turn and he is just not to be trusted. He is just truly ruined professional golf in a way and my love of the PGA Tour in a way too. It is going to take some time to earn that back.”
On the other side, DJ and TC were highly appreciative of the efforts Liz Moore has put in ever since taking over from Marcoux Samaan as the LPGA Commissioner. Samaan who stepped down in January this year has been active in an advisory capacity. Her interim replacement Moore has taken to the role like fish to water. Schuster was “She has been kind of been speaking with clarity and conviction and force in some of the meetings they have had. And displaying some leadership.”
The Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship was removed from the tour schedule in January 2025. The Tournament was canceled because the organizers failed “to fulfill any portion of its payment obligations to the LPGA Tour for the 2024 and 2025 events.” The event which debuted as the Hugel-JTBC LA Open in 2018 will need to clear the payment issues to be re-added to the schedule. “Hopefully she clears up that JTBC lingering payment issue,” Schuster added.
Liz Moore did provide a statement during the time the cancellation was announced, stating her intention to bring it back. “We remain dedicated to bringing this event back to our schedule to honor the incredible legacy of Seri Pak, who has been a wonderful ambassador for the game and this event.” the interim commissioner clarified.
Moore seems to have hit the ground running despite being in a temporary capacity.“Lots of high praise for Liz Moore in the early weeks on the job,” added Piehowski, recalling the positive reaction her policy on slow play got.
Nelly Korda had high praise for Liz Moore’s changes
The LPGA rolled out a new policy to address the issue of slow play. At a player meeting organized by Liz Moore, the tour put forth their new policy aiming to target strokes rather than fining players. The new policy set to be imposed by the Tour from the Ford’s Championship taking place in late March was welcomed by the players.
THIS is how it is done.
Bravo @LPGA for demanding that players get faster. Assuming they follow thru with penalizing players, the pace of play will pick up. pic.twitter.com/vMjiuXxasx
— Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) February 5, 2025
Nelly Korda, a vocal protester against slow play liked the approach adopted by Liz Moore and the LPGA. “I think that implementing harsher rules is going to be good for the game of golf. They were saying at the meeting, at the end of the day, we’re a form of entertainment. If we’re taking really long out there, I mean, that’s not entertaining,” the 15-time LPGA Tour winner stated.
Australian golfer Minjee Lee was also heaped praise on the new policy. “I would probably say that something had to be done at some point,” stated Lee. The LPGA took drastic measures to address slow play after Charley Hull and Nelly Korda had to finish their third round at The Annika in the dark, prompting former commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan to call for a committee to be formed to address this issue.
Do you think Jay Monahan and the PGA Tour should adopt these changes?
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