While Tiger Woods goes through another patience-testing rehabilitation process in the aftermath of the disc-replacement surgery he had in October, he is in charge of reimagining the future of the PGA Tour.
While there is uncertainty about when Woods will be healthy enough to resume his playing career – it won’t be any time soon – he made it clear during his Hero World Challenge news conference Tuesday that the rumored changes to the tour’s structure are coming and could happen as soon as 2027.
Approaching his 50th birthday on Dec. 30, Woods is deeply involved in tour business as chairman of the nine-person future competition committee, which is doing the hands-on work of following the lead of new CEO Brian Rolapp, who envisions a streamlined version of the PGA Tour.
“We are trying to do that in the best way possible so we can introduce this in ’27,” Woods said Tuesday morning at Albany in the Bahamas, site of the unofficial tournament he hosts for 20 leading PGA Tour players.
“Hopefully we get there, hopefully we get to that point. We’re working with all of our partners to create the best schedule and product [and] to deliver all that in ’27 is something we’re trying to do. I don’t know if we can get there, I don’t know if we will get there, but that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Woods offered no specifics on what a new tour model might look like though Rolapp has used the word “scarcity” as a guiding principle, suggesting the tour schedule is bloated and would benefit from being condensed, enhancing the value of each event while potentially limiting playing opportunities.
Rolapp said recently he can envision a PGA Tour schedule that starts around the time of the Super Bowl, which would effectively eliminate January tournaments. There has also been discussion of moving away from the signature-event model to make all tournaments have more-equal prize money and FedEx Cup points.
CLICK TO READ THIS STORY AT GGP+ AND TO GET FREE GGP SUBSCRIPTIONS