Jay Monahan sometimes signs his emails “Keep attacking,” so it’s no surprise that the PGA Tour commissioner is guiding golf into a new era where golfers will approach the first tee with walk-up music and fans don’t have to turn off their phones on the course.
Monahan, who succeeded Tim Finchem as commissioner 16 months ago, already has his fingerprints all over the tour, as evidenced by a new brand campaign intended to replace the long-running “These guys are good” and appeal to a younger audience.
Jay Monahan has brought progressive ideas to the PGA Tour in 16 months as commissioner.tony florez photography
The 46-year-old Boston native and former Fenway Sports Group executive talked about this edgier, more modern tour last week at the CAA World Congress of Sports, making one of his first major appearances in front of the broader sports industry since taking over for Finchem. In an interview with SportsBusiness Journal’s Abe Madkour, Monahan addressed a number of key topics facing golf, including repositioning the sport’s marketing, its schedule, and learning from his predecessor.
What follows are excerpts from that conversation in Los Angeles at the JW Marriott in L.A. Live.
• On the PGA Tour’s new brand marketing campaign, “Live Under Par”: We’re a new tour. We’re a modern tour. We feel like the energy of “Live Under Par” takes the sport to another level. It celebrates the interaction our players have with fans. In today’s day and age, it gave us an opportunity to pivot and move in a different direction. … We don’t have to stage a photo shoot for this. It’s real. It’s authentic. It’s what our players are doing, day in and day out. And we’re excited to see it develop naturally.
• On the new master schedule planned for 2019 that will shift the PGA Championship to May from its traditional August date and the Players Championship from May to March: Back in 2015, we began this process and we tried to look at the overall schedule through the eyes of the fan, and asked what is the optimal schedule? And part of what we’re looking to do is end our FedEx Cup playoffs before the start of college and pro football, and really own the month of August. This gives us big events every month from March through July, and then in August a run of playoffs we think will now have more significance.
On the presence of golf in the Olympics, which saw numerous player defections for the 2016 Rio Games but still generated strong TV viewership in several key territories: When we talked to the IOC and talked to our partners, it was seen as a resounding success. And looking ahead, I think golf’s contributions to the Olympics are going to be significant.
• On lessons taken from Finchem: I learned so much from him. But I will say, without him saying it, you watch him operate and it’s never about him. It’s always about the players. And the glory should always be focused on the players. And he has such a deep passion for the history of the game.
• On his own golf game: My current handicap index is 4.6. But it’s trending higher. One of the things I’ve been fortunate to do over the last 16 months is play in pro-ams with our sponsors, and I haven’t won. It’s hard to win a pro-am, just like it’s hard to win on the tour.
