PGA Tour CEO (and future commissioner) Brian Rolapp’s presentation of a reimagined PGA Tour last week at the Travelers Championship answered a lot of questions, but it raised even more and left many others unanswered.
The latter is especially true for the DP World Tour and the “Strategic Alliance” between it and the PGA Tour that has been in place since 2020.
The alliance began with the PGA Tour acquiring 15 percent of the DP World Tour’s media production arm and taking a seat on the tour’s Board of Directors. In 2022, the alliance was extended through 2035, and the PGA Tour’s ownership stake grew to 30 percent. Part of the alliance included co-sanctioning the Scottish Open and, beginning in 2023, granting PGA Tour cards to the top 10 players not already exempt at the end of the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai.
However, there was a little-known proviso in the extension that allowed for a renegotiation in 2027, and discussion between the two organizations are well underway toward that end. Concern that the agreement could be set aside all together caused Rolapp to offer assurances earlier this year to Rory Mcilroy and others that the DP World Tour would not be abandoned.
“We have been in regular dialogue as part of our strategic alliance, particularly in relation to how the changes to the fall schedule can benefit golf globally.”
guy kinnings, CEO, DP World Tour
So what does that mean now that Rolapp has set forth his vision for a new world order?
It is clear that Rolapp’s thinking focuses on a distinctly American schedule from February through August. The only exception to that vision would be a two week visit to the British Isles for the Scottish Open and the Open Championship. Furthermore, it is likely that the Canadian Open will move to the fall after the conclusion of the PGA Tour Championship season.
In a statement sent to Global Golf Post, DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings endorsed Rolapp’s plan. “A lot of hard work and consideration has gone into today’s announcement by the PGA Tour. I would therefore like to congratulate Brian, his team and the Future Competition Committee on the plans they have outlined, which are very positive for the game of golf.
“We have been in regular dialogue as part of our strategic alliance, particularly in relation to how the changes to the fall schedule can benefit golf globally.
“As Brian mentioned, we are continuing to work through the detail of this, and other elements, but a clear opportunity exists to further elevate and enhance key national opens and international events around the world, especially in the September to January period. We look forward to continuing to work together in order to achieve that.”
It is quite possible, indeed even likely, that this new world order could result in the DP World Tour owning the September through January period on the global golf professional calendar. The current calendar could see some movement, with certain tournaments joining the Back Nine and the DP World Tour playoffs. This period would also include the newly co-sanctioned Australian Open, which the PGA Tour recently pledged to help elevate through a partnership with Golf Australia and the DP World Tour. and then bleed into January’s multiple event series in the Middle East.
The biggest question relates to the status of the 10 PGA Tour cards made available to the top DP World Tour players. Will this continue? And which of the two PGA Tour series will access be granted to … the Championship Series, the Challenger Series, or some combination thereof?
Both sides acknowledge that the alliance has been beneficial to each other and to the global game, so it is hard to imagine it not continuing. At the time of the original agreements, the DP World Tour had a bit more leverage given the specter of a merger with LIV Golf. That threat no longer exists, and so the PGA Tour may push for an agreement that favors it and fits in cleanly with Rolapp’s future vision.
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Ben Jared, PGA TOUR via Getty Images