PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Soon, this will no longer be your father’s PGA Tour.
Significant change is coming.
On Wednesday, in front of a packed house of 1,100 at the PGA Tour’s new global headquarters, Brian Rolapp, the PGA Tour’s newly appointed CEO, delivered bold and aggressive plans for the future of the tour.
Rolapp, who was brought to the PGA Tour from the NFL, where he served as its chief media and business officer for commissioner Roger Goodell, presented a “six-theme’’ plan to enhance the product for fans, tournament sponsors and media partners.
Rolapp insisted that none of the decisions are concrete.
“This remains a work in progress, and it is by no means a baked cake,” Rolapp said. “These are simply areas we are starting to see a meaningful consensus.’’
Among those includes a plan to bring PGA Tour events to the largest markets in the U.S., beginning with New York, where there hasn’t been a tour event played since 2021, the Northern Trust at Liberty National.
“Today, the PGA Tour competes in only four of the top 10 largest U.S. media markets,’’ Rolapp said. “That is an opportunity. We are evaluating markets like New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington DC, Boston, and many others — places where there is a strong fan demand for our sport, and a chance to reach new fans.’’
The plan, too, is to streamline the tour into more events that carry significance and move away from the events that fans complain have poor fields.
That means a restructuring of the calendar of events, putting an emphasis on top events he described as 21 to 26 “first track elevated’’ tournaments with fields consistently filled with the top-ranked stars of the game playing for higher purses.
“Today, we have eight Signature Events,’’ he said. “We are effectively looking to at least double that number. We will have a second track of PGA Tour tournaments which will ladder up to those elevated events.’’
That “ladder up’’ effect will include a ladder down as well, with relegation in place.
One of the buzzwords coming from Rolapp’s proposed plans has been “scarcity,’’ meaning he wants fans to be clamoring for more tournaments the way many football fans want more NFL games on the schedule.
“There has been a lot of discussion about ‘scarcity,’’’ Rolapp said. “Ultimately, ‘scarcity’ is not about the number of events we have, but rather ‘scarcity’ is about making every event we have matter. This is why we are evaluating the role of promotion and relegation between these two tracks within our competitive model.
“What we envision is a merit-based system that leans into what makes professional golf so compelling, players earning their way to the top, with every event having greater meaning. You see (relegation) work powerfully elsewhere, including in English football, where clubs move between the Premier and the Championship based on their performance. Applying elements of that approach to the PGA Tour creates real consequence, lifting the competitive standard across the entire platform.
“For our members, the message is pretty simple: Play well and you earn the opportunity to compete in our biggest events and for more money.’’
Rolapp said the feedback he’s “repeatedly’’ gotten from players is that “meritocracy is our greatest strength,’’ adding, “We intend to build on that even further.’’
Part of Rolapp’s plan is “moving away’’ from small fields and no-cut events that are on the schedule now with the elevated “signature’’ events that have 70-player fields and no cuts.
“Ideally, we are targeting something closer to 120-player fields with a cut,’’ he said. “It helps fans know who they will see and showcases who they want to see — the most competitive players. It helps partners know what they’re investing in, and it helps players better understand the competitive landscape in their schedules, all while embracing meritocracy.’’
The last of Rolapp’s “six themes’’ is exploring ways to enhance the tour’s postseason.
“We have heard from our fans and our partners (and) they want more drama,’’ he said. “We are considering the potential integration of match play, either at the TOUR Championship or across the post-season as a whole, bringing win-or-go-home moments to the conclusion of our season.’’
Rolapp emphasized that “nothing has been finalized’’ and that these themes have been under heavy discussion to be put into play. He said he plans to conduct another state-of-the-tour meeting like Wednesday’s at the Traveler’s Championship in June.
“My brief is to make the PGA Tour better — better for fans, better for our members,’’ he said.
He pointed to the Players Championship being the model he’d like every tournament to follow — a tournament played on an iconic golf course by a field of the best players in the sport.
“What we have this weekend is a standard,’’ he said. “That is the standard we’re chasing. Some may say, an absurd standard, but I would submit that standards are meant to be absurd and aspirational.’’
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