Jay Monahan saw the comments from Terry Strada, the national chair of the 9/11 Families United who blasted the “hypocrisy” and “greed” from the PGA Tour commissioner and other tour executives after their move to merge with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf.
And Monahan, who had players calling for his resignation Tuesday following the stunning decision, responded to Strada and other families impacted by 9/11 by saying Wednesday that he has “to own” and accept any “difficulties I’ve caused on that front.”
The commissioner, though, followed up his attempt at an apology by continuing to publicly back his decision as the best route for golf’s future.
“I think about the fact that I allowed confidentiality to prevail here,” Monahan said in an interview on the Golf Channel, “and in allowing confidentiality to prevail, I did not communicate to very important constituents, including the families of 9/11. I regret that. I really do.”
Jay Monahan was interviewed on the Golf Channel on Wednesday following the PGA Tour’s decision to merge with LIV Golf.Screengrab via Twitter/@awfulannouncingAlso in his interview, Monahan said he understands any criticism directed at him after the PGA Tour’s decision that reflected a stark pivot from his public comments and stances about LIV Golf since the rival association started events in June 2022.
“Any hypocrisy, I have to own,” Monahan said. “Nobody else. That’s on me. It shouldn’t be directed at the membership. It should be directed at me.”
But Strada, whose husband died during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, told The Post’s Peter Botte on Tuesday that she felt “completely betrayed.”
Terry Strada (center) lost her husband in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.AFP via Getty Images“I am absolutely appalled, and they should be ashamed,” Strada told The Post. “I knew nothing about this until I saw it in the news this morning. It’s extremely disappointing and appalling that Monahan would stand with us in the media against this sportswashing entity of LIV Golf for a full year and then do this abrupt about-face and not be man enough to even have a conversation and give us a warning or an explanation of why and how they came to this decision.”
The PGA Tour announced Tuesday that it agreed to a merger with LIV Golf and the European DP World Tour, with Monahan citing the decision at the time as one to overcome the sport’s friction and unify golf on a global scale.
But current members of the Tour found out about the news on Twitter and were shocked, and it reportedly led to some calling for Monahan’s resignation in a players meeting in Toronto ahead of the RBC Canadian Open this weekend.
Jay Monahan, pictured in March 2023, apologized to families impacted by the 9/11 terrorist attacks in an interview on Golf Channel.Getty ImagesThe agreement between the Tour and LIV Golf also included a line about ending existing litigation between them, which emerged from a series of bitter conflicts that included some golfers — such as Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka — defecting from their Tour agreements for massive contracts.
Monahan, in the interview with Golf Channel, said the loyalty from golfers such as Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, who resisted contracts and reminders with the Tour, “will be rewarded.”
“Ultimately, the decision we’ve made, I believe, is gonna make it better for all of our players, and loyalty, ultimately, as a leader, always needs to be rewarded,” Monahan said.
