$300M-worth Phil Mickelson slams PGA Tour as Jay Monahan comes to Rory McIlroy’s rescue

Rory McIlroy stirred up a controversy by skipping the Memorial Tournament this week. The 2025 Masters winner faced flak after tournament host Jack Nicklaus shared not learning of the player’s decision to sit the contest out despite it being a signature event. However, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan came to the Northern Irishman’s rescue, which didn’t sit well with Phil Mickelson.

Monahan lauded McIlroy’s support of other events on Wednesday and stated that he had the freedom to pick events after a ‘life-altering season.’ He dubbed the players’ ‘ability to select their schedule,’ as ‘the beauty of our model.’ Interestingly, Mickelson took to social media to ridicule the comments and said the ‘model’ in question was unsuccessful.

The poster star of LIV Golf, worth $300M (according to Celebrity Net Worth), said that the American circuit “won’t ever be able to move throughout the world” like the Saudi series. The former PGA Tour star added that the circuit “was great” for him and other players but wasn’t “for anyone else” after claiming that “sponsors don’t know what they are buying.”

Reacting to Jay Monahan’s defense of Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson wrote on X:

“‘The beauty of our model.’ It’s why the PGA Tour won’t ever be able to move throughout the world, why sponsors don’t know what they are buying, why fans haven’t seen all best compete against each other consistently for decades, and why no other sport successfully uses this model. It was great for me and all players but not good for anyone else.”

It is pertinent to note that Rory McIlroy has yet to explain his decision to skip a third signature event. The ace golfer, who won the Masters last month, reportedly didn’t inform Nicklaus in person about the decision as well.

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What did Jay Monahan say about Rory McIlroy?

Jay Monahan went into damage control on Wednesday after McIlroy’s unexpected absence from this week’s Memorial Tournament, one of the PGA Tour’s signature events. The PGA Tour lead lauded the Northern Irishman’s role in the circuit and said that he had the ability to pick his schedule after a career Grand Slam.

Monahan reiterated the five-time major champion’s past commitments to the event and said that he ‘doesn’t have any concern’ with the latter’s latest decision.

Speaking to reporters at Muirfield Village Golf Club, ahead of the Memorial Tournament, Jay Monahan said, as quoted by Sports Illustrated:

“You look at the beauty of our model is that our players have the ability to select their schedule… Rory McIlroy I think has played this tournament every year since 2017 (13 overall) and you look at the tournaments he has supported… I don’t have any concern because you look at this, on balance, over time, his support of our tournaments and our partners is extraordinary.

"Look at the season that Rory has had. He’s had a life-altering season. He’s won the Players Championship, you win the Masters Tournament, you win the (career) Grand Slam and you win the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.”

The PGA Tour is now in the third year of its Signature Event model. The concept, put together in 2022 after LIV Golf’s inception, sees players who finished in the top 50 in previous year’s FedEx Cup standings compete to qualify for the 72-player field. The eight events each year offer a whopping $20 million purse.

It is pertinent to note that Rory McIlroy and his TGL partner, Tiger Woods, were among the players who massively backed the concept during its early ideation days.