Brian Rolapp’s early days as CEO of the PGA Tour are going well.
After a few years of uncertainty, the PGA Tour appears to be back on solid ground. It has once again become the main stage for many of the world’s top players.
And it is starting to pay off. Brooks Koepka‘s return is now official, following his departure from LIV Golf in December. But that doesn’t mean everything has gone perfectly for the PGA Tour.
Matt Kuchar voices one concern after talking to Brian Rolapp
Questions remain about how the tour will look in the years ahead. The number of cards handed out each year has already been reduced, and it appears that further changes to the schedule are on the horizon.
Sports Illustrated reported that this year could mark the PGA Tour’s final visit to Hawaii, and Harris English suggested a trimmed-down calendar of just 20 events might be coming.
Kuchar acknowledged that while fewer events could make each one more meaningful, there’s a risk in trying to elevate all remaining tournaments equally. He shared his thoughts with Sports Illustrated after meeting with Brian Rolapp.
“The biggest thing I came away with is they’d like to have our version of the tour kind of owning, controlling, operating a handful of really great events,” he said. “Certainly what the Players Championship has turned into is incredible. It’s arguably one of the best run events in the world now.”
“But part of me wonders how much of an appetite there is for, let’s say, 20 major golfing tournaments. I still scratch my head at what happened to the World Golf Championships. For the most part, all of the top 40, 50 guys in the world played all the World Golf Championships. Tiger [Woods] won half of them so clearly they were successful from a TV standpoint. And they no longer exist.”
PGA Tour can take a page out of Formula One’s playbook
So much would probably come down to the length of the golf season. There’s no sense in squeezing it all into just five months.
But if it ends up looking something like the Formula One calendar, that might actually work.
By the time each event comes around, there would be an appetite among fans to see players in action again, especially after a short break from elite golf.
It could also ensure more regular matchups between top players. With fewer cards available and a condensed schedule, skipping events won’t be as easy as before.
If Rolapp continues to create opportunities for those lower down the ladder, he should have enough backing to shape the PGA Tour how he sees fit.
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