Long-time PGA TOUR staff member Jeff Monday is retiring, but the relationship he helped establish between the AJGA and the PGA TOUR will continue to grow. Monday spent 30-plus years in different capacities with the TOUR, most recently serving as President of PGA TOUR Canada since 2012.
“I got out of graduate school and decided to become a ski bum in Lake Tahoe,” Monday said. “In the summer I worked at the golf course there called Edgewood. It just so happened that the AJGA had an event at Edgewood. Through that event I got to know Stephen [Hamblin] and Chris [Hack] and they were looking to add some people. I flew down to the AJGA event in Arizona at La Paloma to do an interview with Stephen and took the job right after.”
Monday started his career at the AJGA in 1988. He worked as a tournament director for five years at the AJGA before moving on to the PGA TOUR. He served in marketing, sponsorship and tournament operations leadership roles before being promoted to PGA TOUR Canada President in 2012.
Monday reflected on his time at the AJGA as an extremely valuable part of his career development.
“The AJGA teaches you, from a golf business perspective, how to build a team and get everyone pointing in the same direction,” Monday said. “No matter what level of golf you are working with, the goal is to get everyone on the same page to put on the best tournament we can. That was the biggest thing I learned from the AJGA. I learned how to be a leader and some of the skills that help me whenever I have been in that type of role.”
Since Monday first graduated to the PGA TOUR, a total of 46 staff members have developed their careers at the AJGA before moving up to the TOUR. This path and relationship is a point of pride for AJGA Executive Director Stephen Hamblin.
“Jeff was a great employee and has remained a great friend of junior golf and the AJGA,” Hamblin said. “He was able to parlay the lessons and skills he learned at the AJGA to enjoy a tremendous career with the PGA TOUR. Jeff never forgot his roots, and for that I have the utmost respect for him. It gives me tremendous personal satisfaction to witness those who have worked for the AJGA and moved on to organizations like the PGA TOUR. It clearly illustrates how the AJGA is fulfilling its secondary mission of developing golf’s next generation of leaders.”
Monday views the golf industry and internships with organizations like the PGA TOUR and the AJGA as incredibly beneficial to any professional career.
“The fundamental characteristics and skills learned while working in the golf business apply to the business world in general,” Monday said. “The AJGA and PGA TOUR have great internships and anytime somebody can get an internship within the golf industry, it will serve them well, regardless of what they are looking to do.”
Monday’s time as president is ending, but he hopes his contributions to organizations like the AJGA and PGA TOUR will leave a lasting impact.
“Just to be able to add to all the good things that the AJGA and the PGA TOUR do is important to me,” Monday said. “No one is irreplaceable and there are lots of people that work really hard in the industry. I think just being part of what these two organizations have done is what I hope my legacy is.”
Over the last 40 years, the AJGA has positioned itself as the leading junior golf organization in the world. However, the AJGA has also become a training ground for the next generation of workers in the golf industry and beyond. Every year, the impact of this secondary mission continues to grow.