With the PGA Tour and its five other associated tours shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic, Golfweek reports that commissioner Jay Monahan is foregoing his salary indefinitely.
The PGA Tour is made up of six tours: the PGA Tour, PGA Tour Champions, Korn Ferry Tour, Mackenzie Tour – Canada, PGA Tour Latinoamerica and PGA Tour – China. Between all six, 17 tournaments have been postponed and 20 have been canceled – so far. The PGA Tour alone has canceled or postponed all events through May 21, subject to change with the tides of the virus.
Eamon Lynch of Golfweek joined Golf Central on Saturday to break down Monahan’s decision to not take a paycheck during the COVID-19 hiatus.
“Not only is Jay foregoing his salary indefinitely, but the executive team at the PGA Tour, which includes a group of about eight to 10 people, are also taking a 25 percent pay cut also indefinitely, and all other salaries at the Tour have been frozen at 2019 levels,” Lynch said. “So it really is just reflecting the new reality that has hit everyone in the last week or two.”
In Lynch’s article, he wrote Monahan was found to have earned $3.9 million in 2017 in the PGA Tour’s tax filing in only his first year on the job. There is no other fund the money is going into, it’s simply trying to cut costs while there is no money coming in via tournaments.
“There’s no business going on anywhere and I think this is an overall cost-cutting to reflect that new reality,” Lynch said.