Jay Monahan says no 'free ride' as barbs continue to be traded between PGA Tour and LIV Golf

Jay Monahan is the man behind the scenes, the string puller, but the PGA Tour commissioner was thrust front and centre when the LIV Golf Series kicked off. All scenarios were hypothetical until a ball was struck. Within half an hour of the tee shots in St Albans, Monahan issued a statement saying all players taking part in LIV Golf would be suspended from the PGA Tour.

Ad/> A line in the sand had been drawn. RBC Canadian OpenCanadian Open: The numbers behind Rory McIlroy's victory4 HOURS AGO With the reported figures on the table — Phil Mickelson is said to have picked up $200 million merely for turning up on the first tee — it is understandable why players are having their heads turned. Others are set to follow the likes of Mickelson, Dustin Johnson ($100m, anyone?), Sergio Garcia and co.

Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed are set to be on the tee for the second LIV Golf event in Portland at the end of the month. How many more rich golfers will head for guaranteed riches is not immediately clear, but Monahan is confident in his product. The sight of Rory McIlroy defending the Canadian Open title in front of a huge crowd in Ontario certainly reinforces Monahan’s position — and he was bullish on Sunday.

«I guess I would answer the question (of why players cannot do both) by asking a question, and that is, why do they need us so badly? Because those players have chosen to sign multi-year lucrative contracts to play in a series of exhibition matches against the same players over and over again,» Monahan said in the CBS Studio at the RBC Canadian Open. «You look at that versus what we see here today, and that's why they need us so badly. »You've got true, pure competition, the best players in the world here at the RBC