Jay Monahan: PGA Tour stepping up efforts to fight social injustice

Racial tensions and the need for social justice reached another tipping point last week in the NBA, with a segment of the league prepared to cancel the season without a more substantive commitment from the league to help encourage change and equality.

On Wednesday at the FedExCup playoff finale at East Lake, Tour commissioner Jay Monahan was asked what specific measures the circuit planned to promote diversity and inclusion.

“All of our tournaments are going to be identifying racial and social injustice causes in their local markets going forward,” Monahan said. “I think as you look out over the next 10 years, I think that we would project it to generate at least $100 million for those causes over the next 10 years, and that’s something that we’re going to hold ourselves accountable to.”

Monahan also outlined a program which would give the top players from Historically Black Colleges and Universities access to Korn Ferry Tour qualifying via the Advocates Professional Golf Association Tour and the PGA Tour University program, as well as financial resources and access to TPC network facilities.

“We are going to commit resources with the PGA Tour performance centers so that those individuals have access to the best instruction, the best technology, the best know-how, and you’re going to see us alongside the PGA of America continue to identify new golf courses and new ways to be helpful to the APGA,” Monahan said. “Again, it’s something we’ve been doing for a while, but you’ll see us really step up our efforts on that front.”

Last week, Cameron Champ, one of four players on the Tour with Black heritage, wore one black shoe and one white shoe at the BMW Championship in response to the Aug. 23 shooting of Jacob Blake by a police officer in Kenosha, Wis. He also wrote Blake’s name along with the letters “BLM” for Black Lives Matter on the white shoe.

“With everyone talking about it, and again, anyone can talk about it, but action is what’s needed, and it’s amazing to see that,” Champ said. “It’s definitely a huge and amazing step in the right direction.”