Ponte Vedra, Fla. – Brian Rolapp has been around the sports world for a long time, and has learned that it’s a pretty simple operation when you get right down to it.
“The sports business is not that hard,” stated Rolapp, the new CEO of the PGA Tour. “Just think like a fan, and nine-and-a-half times out of 10, that’s probably the right answer.”
Rolapp left a senior role with the National Football League to take top spot with golf’s biggest circuit last June. He immediately focused on an overhaul of the tour, and on Wednesday he held a media conference to announce a six-point agenda of modification that’s been driven by a players’ council headed by none other than Tiger Woods.
None of the changes are jaw-dropping. Most of them are relatively simple and obvious, having been batted round for some time.
For instance, there will be 16 signature events instead of eight, with fields of 120 players and 36-hole cuts. Throw in the Players, the playoffs and either a Presidents or a Ryder Cup and there’s a 21 to 26-event season. The result is a shorter, more impactful season. That makes sense.
There will also be a clear and easy-to-understand method for who gets to play. Instead of a handful of different ways to get into and event and an ever-changing field, a relegation system would come into play. Rolapp used British soccer as a comparable example. That also makes sense.
“It helps fans know who they will see and showcases who they want to see – the most competitive players,” said Rolapp.
Gone would be sponsor exemptions and other programs that back-fill fields at the last minute. That might harm a tournament such as the RBC Canadian Open, which traditionally provides entries for the Canadian Amateur winner, the top PGA of Canada player and others who get in because it’s a national championship.
But a guaranteed field full of the game’s top players competing in Canada might be and easy trade-off instead of a handful of talented locals.
It’s also unlikely it would mean dropping the Open from the PGA Tour’s main schedule, especially when RBC remains one of the Tour’s biggest backers.
“I think there’s a bit of a misconception that scarcity means a dramatic cut in the number of events of the PGA Tour as we know it,” said Rolapp. “As I said in my remarks, scarcity is about making the events we have matter more, so I think there will be a place for most of our events in our new model.”
Rolapp pointed out that the tour also wants to go where the people are. Presently and shockingly, it only operates in four of the 10 biggest media markets in the United States. There are no tournaments in New York, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., or Philadelphia.
Why they aren’t already playing in those locations makes no sense, outside of the fact that, in some of those locales, getting a quality golf course to host can be tough.
He next referenced feedback the tour has received telling it that the postseason needs more drama. He stated that it could be possible that at least one, and maybe all, of the final events in the FedEx Cup playoffs could use a match-play format.
“We are considering the potential integration of match play,” he said. “Either at the Tour Championship or across the postseason as a whole, bringing win-or-go-home moments to the conclusion of our season.”
While definitely progressive, nothing in this rollout is revolutionary. Most of these ideas have been batted around for a while, usually being met with a “we’d like to do that but…” response from previous administrations. Rolapp seems more open to some significant alterations to put the PGA Tour on a different tact.
The main reason for that is that he may be doing the organizing but many of the ideas are being generated by players. Especially Woods, who is a director on the policy board and heads up the Future Competition Committee. Other players who are shaping some of the changes include Patrick Cantlay, Adam Scott, Camilo Villegas, Maverick McNealy and Keith Mitchell.
The changes for a new-look PGA Tour will start as soon as next season and then be added as it becomes possible to do so.
“Once decisions have been made and finalized, changes will be implemented through a rolling approach,” Rolapp stated. “As Tiger has said recently, some elements could be addressed sooner for next season, with more significant change likely to be implemented for the 2028 season, pending the necessary work to be done with our partners and other operational considerations.”
It would seem that the tour is headed for change, something that’s been due for a while.
