Golf is synonymous with honesty but five-time PGA Tour winner Ken Green believes the Tour’s leadership structures are anything but transparent, writes CRAIG STIRTON.
Speaking on the Free Drop Podcast, the former United States Ryder Cup player was asked a very simple question at the tail-end of a wide-ranging conversation: If you were to play commissioner for a day, and you could change one PGA Tour or PGA Tour Champions law or regulation, what would you change and why?
“Well, the first thing I’d insist on is that it be more honest,” Green said. “Professional golfers are the most honest people on the planet, calling shots on themselves etc, and we’ve literally been run by three of the most dishonest people – Dean Beman, Tim Fincham and Jay Monahan – and I think that’s terrible.
“I’m a huge believer in honesty so I would certainly demand that if I was to become commissioner.
“The rule that I would change is I’d probably have to try to convince the players that we need to give more to charity. You guys are doing pretty well financially and this may not be a sustainable product if the sponsors keep having to cough up this money.”
At a time when incumbent PGA Tour commissioner Monahan’s handling of the PGA Tour-LIV Golf saga has been widely criticised, Green is of the opinion that the PGA Tour should’ve sourced cash injections elsewhere.
“Now we’ve got Saudi Arabia, which is another nightmare in itself,” Green said. “They’re going to keep putting up the money, so they will keep playing for this and that’s, in my opinion, a terrible thing. I guess I would’ve fought the LIV thing harder; I’d have gone around begging all the billionaires [for money].”
On the lighter side, Green shared humorous anecdotes of a ticket debacle at The Masters, how he was the first player to skip shots across the water on the par-three 16th, and how the loss of his leg in a car accident has given him a renewed purpose in the golf world.
