Rory’s PIF ‘problem’, Jay Monahan’s job security whispers | The Players Seen & Heard

All of the biggest stars of the PGA Tour are teeing it up this week at the 50th annual Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. Come inside the ropes as our Seen & Heard team reacts to the biggest moments from the pressers, chats with some notable rookies and tries some go-to food spots around Jacksonville, Florida.

0:00-2:34 Jay’s Presser
2:35-4:17 Max Homa Scoop Preview
4:18-5:29 Scottie Scheffler
5:30-6:08 Xander Schauffele
6:09-7:16 TacoLu
7:17-9:09 Rory McIlroy
9:10-11:48 First Timers
11:49-12:50 Justin Thomas
12:51 Outro
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That clocks it 457 mile for James colan he’s broken the 5 minute Mark Again a huge day uh in the PJ tour calendar every year Players Championship Tuesday is this J Monahan commissioner’s State of the Union press conference let me tell you how this is going to go he is going to walk into the room and say

Hi to people as he you know gets up on the Lecter at the front of the room he is going to begin with probably a 2 or 3 minute update on things oh there’s chill Damon in the car right next to us you guys have a fun

House this week we’re in Jack’s Beach yeah that’s fun we went for a run on the beach this morning are you an athlete trying to be I barely got out of bed at 9:00 hey I’m a book to give to you all right I’m excited I need something to

Read actually I just finished my other book what was that it’s about dogs that a special we’ll do a swap this one might not be more interesting we’re still trying to figure that out well have fun going to your media parking I’m going to the clubhouse right Front I do know everyone is curious about the status of our negotiations with the pif as I’ve said on a number of occasions you can’t negotiate a deal like this in public so I will be brief I recently met with the governor of the pif yaser Al ramayan and our

Negotiations are accelerating as we spend time together while we have several key issues that we still need to work through we have a shared Vision to quiet the noise and unlock golf’s worldwide potential he’s still the same very guarded very protected very corporate Axiom self that he has always been um

And that that’s just a hard thing I think if you’re a fan of golf right now looking for a reason to keep watching and we just didn’t really get It all right everybody next up on the scoop is Max come with me and we’ll get set up for the Event Max hom welcome to school players related Jim used a favorite like how many years have you played I think this is my third this will be my fourth so I played it three times all right looking back what have you like what’s your favorite memory that stands out for you

Yeah mine’s a weird answer but Saturday two years ago we had a a ton of weather I don’t know if you remember it a year so it blew on Saturday like 1,000 miles an hour it’s the hardest day I’ve ever had on a golf course and we had to restart

To finish the second round on 16 so we are going to have to play 16 17 18 and then come right back to 10 and play it again and everyone I know is pretty anxious and 17 straight into the wind first group goes up I can’t remember who

It was but it’s like the big I think it was like Brooks and maybe Rory I mean it was like the big hitters and they all hit in the water I’m like oh my gosh and then the next group goes up and Justin was the first

One to hit the green and I was like thank goodness I saw that it’s possible awesome well Max thank you so much for joining me this was amazing I was in Blast I house ice cream I had to slow down I was worried I was I was going to

Finish too quickly well I feel bad cuz usually I I think non-dairy doesn’t melt as fast he yeah I mean that was solid all right everyone that’s all you get for now but stay tuned for the full episode of the scoop with maxom coming soon to our YouTube

Page I’m wondering among the players how how much of a concern is it that fans are maybe feeling a little disillusioned or disenchanted by you know the developments over the last couple years of splintering of the Stars across two tours all the talk about money how much

Among the players how much of a concern is that um well I I guess it’s it’s a pretty broad question and when you’re talking about a fan perspective you’re talking about millions of people and so there’s always a lot of perspectives in that group it just depends on who has

The loudest voice and I mean at the end of the day I think we’re trying to do our best to create the best product for the fans but we can’t control whether or not guys want to leave if guys want to go take the money and leave then that’s

Their decision you know I’m not going to sit here tell guys not to take hundreds of millions of dollars if that’s what they think is best for their life then go do it um I’m not going to sit here and force guys to stay on our tour um

But at the end of the day this is where I want to be and you know we’re continuing to grow what we’re doing and what they’re doing is not really a concern to me and if they want if the fans are upset then look at the guys

That left you we had a tour we were all together and the people that left are no longer here and at the end of the day that’s where the splintering comes from I guess we’ll start with the easy ones um yeah I mean you know what I’ve

Said in the past uh on on how I feel about it uh trust is uh something something that’s uh pretty tender so um words are words and I say he in my book he’s got a long way to go he he could be the guy

But in my book he’s got a long way to go to to gain the trust of the the membership I’m sure he’s got the support of the board since they were with him uh making some of those decisions but for me personally um he’s got quite a ways to

Go we just finished the scoop with Max I’m really excited about it I think it went really really well now we are heading to Taco Lou where the owner Dawn I met last year just like runs this incredible Mexican restaurant and he said he’s been workshopping a new ice

Cream dessert for me so that’s what I’m most excited about but we’re going to catch up with the rest of the golf team there It’s like a hot bed with tour players during players week last year we were here there was a uh there were just a a caravan of the of the courtesy cars we’re just coming in one after another after another we’re talking to Don on our way in here today and he said that

They opened the restaurant last night so Justin Thomas could bring the entire Alabama golf team there’s a college tournament across the street from s grass this week Justin Thomas brought the whole team here last night hung out with them that’s kind of meal I need to

Get in on a little offended he didn’t invite me but I’ll get over it in due Time some people in the golf worlds find it funny to put their press availabilities at 750 50 a.m. and a scrum outside of the media center instead of at a normal time like 11: or noon um and that purse is Rory Rory I said I would only be mad if I didn’t

Have time to blow dry my hair and I did so Rory I’m not mad at You I think back to that meeting in Delaware and I think okay did we did we push too hard did we did we try to you know did we hold the turd ransome too much the top players and you know you look at I think the Signature Events or the

Designated events or elevator whatever it is um they really worked last year like if you look at the if you look at the leaderboards you look at the readings um I felt like they really really worked in 2023 and for whatever reason they’re not quite capturing the imagination this year compared to last

Year and I think if I were to put my own perspective on it I think it’s because fans are fatigued of what’s going on in the game and I think we need to try to re-engage the fan and re-engage them in a way that the focuses

On the play and not on talking about equity and and all the rest of it so you know that’s why I said like the sooner that this is resolved I think it’s going to be better for the game and better for you know better for everyone the fans and

Players moving forward the golf game trying to get that new audience right so with new content creators coming into the game do you think it’s really helping develop this next Generation this next audience in golf yes because and I think I saw like with full swing it’s people are so online I think

Especially younger kids that it makes it um more relevant I want to say than maybe if your parents just are trying to stick you in front of a TV you can kind of interact a little bit more with what players are doing and make it fun and funny So today is first timer’s day so we’re going to head over and talk to a bunch of rookies who have never played in this event before if you weren’t a golfer what would you be I would think probably a golf instructor what about if you weren’t in golf at all golf doesn’t

Exist weren’t in golf at all um I would I would hope to do something in sport um not not fast enough for a soccer player but that will be my dream an interesting story about uh your mother attending the Masters yeah my my parents they went to the Masters in 2009

And um yeah my mom made a wish she she buried a coin the close to a tree I think it’s close to the driving Ranch and uh she she made that wish that she wanted me to to come back she wanted her to come back with with me uh 10 years uh

In 10 years time and uh obviously uh I didn’t succeed to this I uh I won that tournament this year which qualified me uh into the Masters and I called right away my mom and I said listen Mom it took it it took me a little bit longer than than 10

Years it’s 15 but we are we’re going back together so it’s that was pretty nice wow that’s so Exciting I just walk watched jonan give Nick Dunlap his PJ tour membership card which was super cool it’s a little metal card that he was very excited to Get and then I just watched J Monahan walk around handing out Tiffany cufflinks to the first timers which is a great way to start the week here at The Players day was really fun it’s just so cool to like hear what these guys are into off of the golf course I heard some guy has an F1 set up in his garage some people are like really into food there fishing there’s a million things going on so

It’s cool to get to know these guys a little bit I’m curious as a sports fan do you look outward and feel like Pro Golf should invoke any one thing in particular that you really like when you look across as a whole that I like the most is just

That when you have all the best players playing together as often as possible getting all the best players in the world together more often is just going to create more and more competitive nature and which I guess would result in a better product would you consider in

The off season of course giving like a 15 handicap just I don’t know one lesson maybe at TPC just play 18 quick I don’t know just spitballing here you don’t have to answer now give it some thought sleep on it okay yeah we can maybe do

Like a a home in home like you come here maybe we’ll spend some time on baseball field or I don’t know what’s what do you think I’ll give you some baseball lessons you give me some golf lessons you got it my dad’s the coach by the way

So anything bad that happens that’s on him just remember that I’ll bring your dad I’ll bring mine I think we’ve learned a lot about uh the state of the sport in the sense that not a lot is happening right now we are waiting for uh some certainty across

The board we’re waiting for certainty from the PGA Tour we’re waiting for certainty from the investors in the PGA Tour and we’re waiting for certainty on what all this means for live um I think that’s kind of been the theme that we’ve heard from everyone I appreciate the

Fact that some guys are willing to really push the ball forward uh we didn’t get a lot of that from Jay but uh in speaking with some of the younger players and some of the most tendered players out here there’s a lot to be feeling good about uh and that’s even 12

Hours 13 hours before play is going to begin here so that’s pretty good