PGA TOUR commissioner Jay Monahan playing in American Express, wants to be more visible this season
Monahan spoke with KESQ following his round Thursday, complimenting the Coachella Valley and expressing confidence in the new-look PGA TOUR going forward
It's no secret what the last year of professional has seen with the addition of LIV Golf. The new tour announcing today that it has found a television partner, CW.
But today at La Quinta Country Club the American Express teed off for its first round where we saw 4 of the top 6 in the world, plus PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan who was paired up with Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau, and CEO of American Express Steve Squeri.
The @theamexgolf brings out the best! Hear from @PGATOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan tonight on @KESQ! @BlakeArthur24 @Tarp1969 pic.twitter.com/tg6JaVLKiR
— Bailey Arredondo (@BaileyKESQ) January 19, 2023
"La Quinta is perfect. Condition wise it is absolutely perfect," said Monahan.
With no tournament host Phil Mickelson or defending champ Hudson Swafford in the field because of LIV, here’s Monahan making the trip to the Coachella Valley.
"It's important to me. We go to work everyday with a commitment to grow this tour and make this tour stronger and do it with and on behalf of our players. To be able to spend this time, you know anybody who is working in any other sport doesn't get to do what we do. That is to be alongside them as they are competing," said Monahan.
What other sport do you see the commissioner competing alongside the pros?
"Everything he does has intention behind it and I definitely think he is trying to be more visible and to be around to support the events and support the players," said Idyllwild native and PGA Pro Brendan Steele.
"We have turned the calendar to 2023 and this is our third event. When we were in November and December you were seeing the commitments made to The American Express," said Monahan.
It was almost as if the PGA Tour is making a statement with a united front and moving forward with this new direction of golf.
The PGA Tour already announced its changes this year, lucrative to be exact.
Major tournaments will be close to 20 million in prize money. The winner of this year's American Express will take home a record 1.4 million.
