WATCH:Rory McIlroy defends PGA Tour chief Jay Monahan after Xander Schauffele comments

Rory McIlroy has spoken out about the leadership of Jay Monahan, after rival Xander Schauffele claimed the PGA Tour commissioner had a lot of work to do to regain the trust of those within the sport

Rory McIlroy has leapt to the defence of PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, who the Northern Irishman has a close relationship with, after fellow tour pro Xander Schauffele said he has lost faith in the commissioner.

Last year, Monahan faced significant scrutiny as the PGA Tour commissioner when he revealed a groundbreaking merger had been tentatively agreed upon between the PGA Tour and the breakaway LIV Golf circuit.

The unexpected merger proposal took the golfing community by surprise, including the players involved.

Ever since that time, the merger has not been finalized. However, the Tour did accept a significant investment offer from Strategic Sports Group, which injected money into the sport. Monahan stated this week that he still retains the backing of the PGA Tour board and intends to continue serving as commissioner.

But Schauffele isn’t so sure about that, and insisted Monahan still has work to do in order to regain the full trust of fans and players alike. He said: “Trust is something that’s pretty tender, so words are words, and I would say in my book [Monahan’s] got a long way to go,”

“He could be the guy, but in my book, he’s got a long way to go to gain the trust of the membership.” McIlroy was quick to respond to those comments, and insisted he still fully supports the commissioner.

He said: “I mean, you look at what Jay’s done since he took over. The media rights deal, navigating us through Covid, the strategic lines with the DP World Tour.

“I would say creating PGA Tour enterprises – we were just able to accept $1.5billion into the business.

“People can nitpick and they can say ‘You didn’t do this right and you didn’t do that right’ but if you actually step back and look at the bigger picture, I think the PGA Tour is in a far stronger position now than it was before Jay took over.”

McIlroy has previously been transparent about his connection with Monahan and has publicly supported him multiple times.

In 2022, the golfer from Northern Ireland assumed a prominent role in opposing LIV Golf, frequently standing beside Monahan at press conferences.

In discussing the new season of Full Swing, McIlroy acknowledged that he has a closer relationship with Monahan than with any other player on the tour. He stated, “I believe I have a stronger bond with Jay than I do with any of the other players on the Tour.”

My connection with Jay revolved around critiquing LIV together. Jay and I were the main ones providing feedback on LIV.