Jon Rahm: Some PGA Tour Players ‘Have Lost That Trust’ in Commissioner Jay Monahan

On Thursday, Jon Rahm made it official, announcing that he had joined LIV Golf. A day later, the 29-year-old expressed uncertainty towards the future of his now-former circuit, the PGA Tour, and its commissioner, Jay Monahan.

"There's been people that have lost that trust [in Monahan], and if he stays the commissioner it's gonna take a long time for a lot of these players to trust him," Rahm said during an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Friday.

Monahan, who has been the Tour's commissioner since January of 2017, has been under fire from the membership since the June 6 announcement of a framework agreement between the tour, DP World Tour and Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia to merge the three parties' golf-related assets.

Multiple players, from Collin Morikawa to MacKenzie Hughes, expressed surprise, and even a sense of betrayal, on social media the day the agreement was revealed, as Monahan and PGA Tour board members Ed Herlihy and Jimmy Dunne negotiated the deal behind closed doors with PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan and DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley.

Monahan later expressed remorse from how the rollout of the framework agreement was handled, telling reporters in August that he regretted "putting players on their back foot."

With the Dec. 31 deadline rapidly approaching, the 15-time major champion posted a memo the player directors (Woods, Charley Hoffman, Patrick Cantlay, Webb Simpson, Jordan Spieth and Adam Scott — who will replace Hoffman on the board at the start of 2024) sent to tour members on Dec. 1.

The memo stated that the board is "working diligently toward the December 31st deadline" and that the player directors have met with potential outside investors in the new entity in recent weeks.

"Throughout our engagement with all interested parties, the Player Directors are committed to speaking with one voice to represent the best interests of all PGA Tour members," the statement added. "We have agreed that we will work to reach a unanimous consensus before voting on any proposal that either creates a for-profit entity or contemplates third-party investment."

One thing is certain: the player directors are seizing more influence over how the tour is governed. Not only has Monahan lost a sizable amount of the membership's trust, but his role in negotiations with the DP World Tour and PIF appears to have changed as well.

"I do believe there are some who still trust he is the better option, and I know there's some that don't believe that," Rahm said.