PGA Tour's Jay Monahan vs. LIV Golf's Greg Norman: Speculation rises on who might face departure from their respective leagues first

Any one of the golf commissioners could lose their job as a result of the proposed merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. It has been speculated that Jay Monahan, who has led the PGA Tour since 2016, may step down from his position after the merger.

When Monahan chose to collaborate with the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund earlier in June, he was met with harsh criticism from golf enthusiasts and the relatives of those killed in the 9/11 terrorist attack. Soon after, the Tour commissioner went on leave before he finally returned to action a month later in July.

Following the controversial framework agreement, PGA Tour members allegedly lost faith in Monahan's leadership; as a result, the commissioner could resign following the final decision on the deal being announced at the end of this year.

On the other hand, if the agreement between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf is approved, Greg Norman can potentially lose his position. When the merger was first announced in June, rumors started to spread that Monahan could be able to terminate LIV Golf as a result of the agreement, which might cause Norman to resign as LIV Golf's CEO.

But in one of his interviews a few months ago, Norman was questioned about his opinions toward the agreement as well as his position. Speaking about the deal, Norman expressed confidence in his role and maintained that LIV would thrive despite its difficulties as a "standalone entity."

According to USA Today Sport, Norman said:

“I knew it wasn’t true. There’s so much white noise floating around out there that I actually paid zero attention to. … I was never in any fear of anybody saying anything or any animus against me or anything like that.”

LIV Golf has announced its schedule for 2024 amidst its potential merger with the PGA Tour. Moreover, 2023 Masters winner Jon Rahm joined the Saudi Circuit in the first week of December, which boosted people's trust in LIV's ability to endure and grow.

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LIV Golf 2024 season

The Mayakoba event in Mexico will serve as the season opener for the upcoming LIV Golf season, which will begin in February. The tournament will take place from February 2 to 4, followed by the Las Vegas event from February 8 to 11.

Here is the LIV Golf schedule for 2024:

• LIV Golf Mayakoba: February 2-4
• LIV Golf Las Vegas: February 8-10
• LIV Golf Saudi Arabia: March 1-3
• LIV Golf Hong Kong: March 8-10
• LIV Golf (USA): April 5-7
• LIV Golf Adelaide: April 26-28
• LIV Golf Singapore: May 3-5
• LIV Golf Houston: June 7-9
• LIV Golf Nashville: June 21-23
• LIV Golf Andalucía: July 12-14
• LIV Golf UK: July 26-28
• LIV Golf Greenbrier: August 16-18
• INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIP: To Be Announced
• TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: To Be Announced

The next PGA Tour event will take place in the first week of January at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. However, the defending champion, Jon Rahm, will miss the event as he has joined LIV Golf.