With some time and distance since Brian Rolapp began to lay out how a reimagined PGA Tour might operate, a silent clock has begun ticking toward the CEO’s promised update in late June at the Travelers Championship.
After Rolapp introduced a six-themed outline of the work to be done between now and then, it is fair to assume that details will soon be applied to concepts, fleshing out the vision the CEO and his various consiglieres have sketched out for the PGA Tour’s next iteration.
How close the finished product matches up with what has been on the original storyboards remains to be seen, but change is coming and Rolapp comes across as a leader intent on getting things done.
In the meantime, let’s consider what may come from the six points Rolapp outlined in advance of the Players Championship.
1. He said the goal is to create a primary schedule of 21 to 26 events that includes the majors, the Players Championship, the playoffs and likely twice the number of signature events that currently exist.
The guess here is the number will settle in the low 20s for two reasons: It’s probably the maximum number of events the top players want to play, and adding another eight signature events to the eight in place feels right.
In 2024 and 2025, Scottie Scheffler played 39 PGA Tour events, Rory McIlroy played 35 and Tommy Fleetwood played 38 (an average of just under 20 events per season).
McIlroy and Fleetwood played on the DP World Tour as well but it seems there is a sweet spot for the PGA Tour.
We have already seen that as nice as $20-million, no-cut events are, there are times when the top players prefer another week off.
Too many signature events raises the specter of “load management,” the noxious NBA habit of intentionally giving star players games off. No one wants that.
Every star won’t play every event but getting most of the best players most of the time is achievable.
2. Settling on 120-player fields with a 36-hole cut seems like the easiest decision of them all. Signature events have proven to be successful but the less-is-more approach has left fans wanting more, including those Friday afternoons when there are weekend rounds at stake.
And because much of this seems like it will take longer than originally intended, don’t be surprised if the American Express is the season opener in late January next year.
3. Rolapp seemed to tacitly confirm the speculation that the tour’s traditional January start in Hawaii is likely to go away as early as next year while saying the tour is looking to open with a marquee event at an iconic West Coast venue to capitalize on prime-time viewers.
Two eye-candy spots come immediately to mind: Torrey Pines and Pebble Beach, either of which would check both boxes.
But what about Phoenix, the week between the NFL’s conference championship games and the Super Bowl?
It is one of the tour’s most recognizable events, has a great television presence and, while it might sacrifice its traditional Super Bowl week spot, it would create a buzz, literally in many cases.
With the Super Bowl moving to mid-February next year, starting the first or second week of February seems a little too late but maybe not. And because much of this seems like it will take longer than originally intended, don’t be surprised if the American Express is the season opener in late January next year.
4. Putting events in major markets currently without annual tournaments – Rolapp mentioned New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Boston – makes perfect sense, especially when applying the NFL prism (though Green Bay proves small markets work, too).
While smaller markets such as Hilton Head Island, the Quad Cities and Greensboro do excellent jobs, going to more of the top-10 markets is a logical building block, especially with the coming two-track version of the tour.
That doesn’t mean the tour will play at Winged Foot or Merion or Chicago Golf Club, but being in these markets can add to the idea of “owning the summer,” a driving force for the tour.
Brian Rolapp
Tracy Wilcox, PGA Tour via Getty Images
5. There is a lack of clarity regarding the promotion-relegation model Rolapp is suggesting but it is apparent that the future tour will embrace what now feels like an unspecified two-tier model (which exists to a degree now).
It leans into the meritocracy idea the tour likes to celebrate and eases concerns that a chunk of events will just disappear.
But will it include Korn Ferry Tour players? How many of those events will the top players enter? Will the fall gain relevance? Could there be mid-season promotion/relegation?
This is the part that may require the most detailed work to get right, and getting it right is mission critical.
6. While no one has suggested the FedEx Cup playoffs are perfect, they do provide a defined conclusion to the season.
With all the other changes on the to-do list, the so-called postseason won’t be immune.
It did not go unnoticed that Rolapp never mentioned FedEx during his media session at the Players (he didn’t directly mention any sponsors), raising the question of what happens after the company’s sponsorship deal expires at the end of 2027.
Might PGA Tour Enterprises invest a portion of its $1.5 billion into creating some of the major-market events and put its own mark on whatever the season-ending championship becomes?
Does FedEx remain involved with a signature event in Memphis? Does the FedEx Cup champion remain a thing?
The notion of adding a match-play element to the playoffs excites many people but why play an entire season under one format and change it at the end?
Maybe the idea is as simple as starting with 70 players, cut it to the low 45 or 50 finishers in the first playoff event, then only 25 or 30 advance to the finals, where everyone starts even and the low score over four days wins.
Here’s another piece of the puzzle: With the NFL expected to get a jump start on renegotiating its media rights deals – Rolapp says there is a $30 billion media pie to be divided and the NFL is looking to double its $12 billion share – the tour will want to be proactive and have its new structure in place to maximize its options.
That’s where Rolapp has shown himself to be a master, having pulled together the NFL’s existing deals with multiple entities. Soon, he will handle a similar opportunity for the PGA Tour and the preparation is already underway.
TOP: ORLANDO RAMIEREZ, GETTY IMAGES
