Commissioner Jay Monahan highlights PGA TOUR momentum, Fan Forward initiatives at THE PLAYERS Championship

Rory McIlroy conquered a “cathedral of the game” at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Ludvig Åberg lifted a trophy alongside a legend after winning The Genesis Invitational hosted by Tiger Woods. Young stars like Joe Highsmith, 24, and Karl Vilips, 23, entered the winner’s circle faster than they could’ve dreamed, both winning their maiden TOUR title just weeks into their rookie seasons. And the TOUR’s global strength was demonstrated as the opening seven events of the year were won by players from seven different countries.

These are just some of the storylines from the first quarter of the 2025 season that converge this week at THE PLAYERS Championship, the gold standard of the PGA TOUR schedule. They emphasize why the PGA TOUR remains the strongest competitive platform on the planet for professional golfers. Historic venues serve as a consistent backdrop across generations, and the greats only emerge by besting the continual wave of new talent that is hungry to usurp them.

Highsmith, Vilips and Åberg provide further testament to the success of PGA TOUR U, the program that catalyzed their pro careers by giving them instant access to the TOUR and its pathways. Luke Clanton and Jackson Koivun are prepared to follow in their footsteps, as well. Clanton, the Florida State junior who’s already finished runner-up in two TOUR events, earned his PGA TOUR card in dramatic fashion just weeks ago at his hometown Cognizant Classic at The Palm Beaches, achieving a childhood dream in front of friends and family. Auburn’s Jackson Koivun, the consensus collegiate player of the year in 2024, is poised to follow in Clanton’s footsteps by earning his TOUR card via PGA TOUR U Accelerated; after making the cut in last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, Koivun is just one point short of cracking the 20-point threshold that guarantees he will start his pro career at golf’s highest level.

Commissioner Jay Monahan highlighted all these stories during his pre-tournament press conference Tuesday at THE PLAYERS Championship, which he delivered before the 550 media members from 16 countries assembled at TPC Sawgrass. He also discussed the PGA TOUR’s devotion to its fans and the potential for the game’s reunification, as well as the innovations the TOUR has made thanks to its Fan Forward Initiative.

After two White House meetings with the PIF and President Donald Trump, Commissioner Monahan made the ongoing talks one of the first topics of Tuesday’s press conference.

“The talks are real. They’re substantial and they’re being driven at the top levels of both organizations,” he said.

He credited President Trump for his willingness to be serve as a facilitator of these important discussions.

“The most important thing is the mutual respect that we’ve built over the last couple of years,” Commissioner Monahan said. “We appreciate Yasir’s innovative vision, and we can see a future where we welcome him onto our Board and work together to move the global game forward.”

The Commissioner said that there is room to integrate important aspects of LIV Golf into the PGA TOUR platform, and that the TOUR is doing “everything we can” to bring the two sides together.

“That said, we will not do so in a way that diminishes the strength of our platform or the real momentum we have with our fans and partners,” Commissioner Monahan said.

That momentum has been on display through increased television viewership and strong commercial partnerships, as well as the growth and innovation on display via the TGL, opening of PGA TOUR Studios and the second-ever Creator Classic, which will see some of social media’s biggest stars take on TPC Sawgrass’ iconic back nine, including the island 17th, on the eve of THE PLAYERS.

The TOUR’s peak network television audience is reaching approximately four million viewers during final rounds, while PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ continues to be the most-streamed live content on the platform. The TOUR’s digital and social media engagements are up, as well, as is tournament revenue.

This also is the launch of the TOUR's World Feed from PGA TOUR Studios, which will allow the TOUR and its international media partners to provide fans with more customized coverage and storytelling of the TOUR’s international players, complemented by a customized graphics package and a dedicated international commentary team. Fourteen production crews from 13 of the TOUR's international broadcast partners will be on-site this week enhancing the World Feed with coverage of players from their local markets.

“Our fans are responding,” Commissioner Monahan said. It’s one reason why industry leaders like Valspar, 3M, Anheuser-Busch, Delta and Morgan Stanley have announced new partnerships or renewals with the TOUR in just the past three weeks. It has been a “historically strong period of commercial sponsorship news” for the TOUR, said Commissioner Monahan.

This is all a result of the TOUR’s dedication to the fans, which has only been strengthened with the introduction of the Fan Forward initiative that uses an unprecedented depth of polling to uncover what fans want. Fan Forward has already identified four key areas of improvement, showing that they want more golf on the broadcast per minute, more drama on every hole, a deeper depth of knowledge about players and their personalities and a unique purpose for every event.

The initiatives already underway in each area are extensive, which is why Commissioner Monahan announced the creation of the Fan Forward website (pgatour.com/fanforward), which will keep fans up to date on the TOUR’s progress.

In response to fan feedback, the TOUR has incorporated innovations like Live Drone tracing technology, increased the number of walk-and-talk interviews during play, shone a spotlight on the Friday cut line and created new broadcast streams like the PGA TOUR LIVE’s ESPN BET branded stream. The TOUR’s website and app also are continually innovating to meet fans’ needs. TOURCAST is debuting AI commentary this week, providing increased context to every shot struck on the PGA TOUR, and cut line probabilities help fans follow the Friday drama even more closely.

The TOUR also has revamped its eligibility system and field sizes to improve tournament access for exempt members and committed to use data and analytics to inform course set-up, highlighted by a tool designed for rules officials as they create more compelling and entertaining tournaments.

The TOUR’s Featured Groups process is also being revamped to deliver even more compelling pairings that elevate the TOUR’s top talents, and its rising stars.

Commissioner Monahan shared Tuesday three recommendations from the player-led Speed of Play Working Group: the publishing of speed-of-play-related statistics later this season; the testing of a new speed-of-play policy on the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR Americas that includes penalty strokes for slow play; and the testing of distance measuring devices at six PGA TOUR events between the Masters and PGA Championship.

By sharing pace of play-related competitive statistics, the PGA TOUR aims to illustrate the intersection of pace of play and performance, aligning these statistics with course conditions, weather, hole locations, competitive context (i.e., performance of players in contention or near the cutline) and other advanced metrics.

The improved fan experience will extend beyond the broadcast, as well, and be felt by the spectators on-site, as the TOUR works toward improved WiFi access, more customizable ticket options and easier experience getting to and from tournaments, and easier navigation once on the ground.

“Overall, we’re focused on creating a more consistently excellent experience for our fans at every event,” Commissioner Monahan said. "That is true whether fans are walking the fairways or watching on television, and it’s a testament to the network partners devoted to innovation, sponsors who desire to take part in the TOUR’s positive momentum and tournaments that desire to provide a best-in-class experience.

“All their efforts have, and will continue,” said Commissioner Monahan, “to keep the voice of our fans at the center of our evolution.”