The PGA Tour schedule is the topic of heated debate, as big changes are set to come in the near future.
In 2028, CEO Brian Rolapp is set to totally revamp the PGA Tour schedule. The season will be reduced to 20 events in total, including major championships and the playoffs, and a two-track system featuring promotion and relegation will be established.
While Rolapp has a clear vision for what he wants the schedule to look like, bringing it to fruition is proving challenging. From sponsors to fans to players, every stakeholder wants different things from the new schedule, and their interests conflict.
According to Golf Channel analyst Rex Hoggard, the players have made one key thing absolutely clear to Rolapp about the new schedule.
PGA Tour players do not want to play more than three weeks in a row
The beginning of the 2027 schedule, which, to be clear, does not feature Rolapp’s new vision, has been released, and it has one glaring problem. The Cadillac Championship, The Players, and the Arnold Palmer Invitational will be played in three consecutive weeks.
These are three of the biggest events of the year on three of the toughest golf courses, so many expect players to sit out the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill during this brutal stretch. That’s because, above all else, these players do not want to play four weeks in a row.
Speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast with Rex and Lav, Hoggard explained, “Two things stood out to me, and you’re right, the Florida swing is going to be interesting because now you’re kicking off with the Cognizant Classic, which has been the normal start to the event, but then you go to Doral, a signature event or sigy as you like to call it.
“Then you go to the Players Championship, obviously the fifth major, and then you go to the Bay Hill, which is a signature event, Siggy. The idea that these players are going to play three weeks in a row, and this isn’t a normal three weeks in a row. It’s Doral. It’s TPC Sawgrass. It’s Bay Hill. They are brutes.
“And I think of that lineup, Bay Hill is going to take the hit. And you could probably make the argument, as we go through the schedule going forward, that someone will be a loser in this scenario.
“Talking with players, I think there are some themes emerging that if the PGA Tour schedule does turn into what Brian Rolapp wants it to turn into, there are a couple of ideas that seem to be surfacing. And one of them is they don’t want to play more than three weeks in a row.
“And if he can find a way to build in off weeks around those on the shoulder programming, then yes, that would absolutely work. But in 2027, Bay Hill is going to take the hit. And whether that means that Scottie Scheffler or Rory McIlroy or whatever combination of stars don’t show up there, that seems like what’s going to happen because they’re not going to get beat up.
“They’re not going to get punched in the face for three straight weeks on those difficult golf courses with the Masters, the year’s first major, around the corner.
“Now, I will say as I’m critical of this particular part of the schedule, the part of the schedule that I was impressed with is they found a way to to move the CJ Cup Nelson away from that what would have been a another brutal stretch because you have the PGA Championship which will be in Frisco, Texas, as I said, followed by this week’s event, the Charles Schwab Challenge.
“There’s no way that you could have had three weeks in a row, not just on those golf courses, but in the exact same market. So, they did find a way to move around the schedule. You look at the Valspar Championship in Tampa. They moved that out of the Florida swing. It probably won’t help in the grand scheme of things with the field.
“It’s obvious this is just a transition year, but you cannot like what this is going to do to Bay Hill.”
What Justin Thomas said about playing four weeks in a row
For the most part, these conversations have been taking place behind the scenes. But at the Charles Schwab Challenge, Justin Thomas gave us a window into why the three-event limit is so important to him.
He was asked how he plans his schedule, and the two-time major winner replied, “Everybody’s different. I would say the most, the first and foremost, most important thing that a lot of the top guys, a lot of, anybody that’s in the majors, you’re going to at least, I would think, is what’s going to prepare me the best for the major.
“So, like I’ve had success in majors when I play the week before. But playing San Antonio the week before the Masters for me doesn’t feel like that’s getting me prepared as much as possible for the Masters. Therefore, I don’t play San Antonio.
“I had a year where the PGA, when it was at Southern Hills, I wanted to play the week before Byron Nelson, it’s easy travel, and I played the week before. So it’s very situational of when you play, don’t play in that regard.
“But I mean I really, really, really try with all my might to not do four in a row, four in a row is like I’m not fun to be around. It’s very taxing. So I try to cap it at three. And, yeah, there’s a lot of great tournaments, we’re very fortunate to have to miss some great events, but you have to at some point. So just kind of start with the majors and fill it in here and there, I guess.”
The best players in the world who have established themselves on the PGA Tour view the season through the lens of the major championships. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, so there’s no way these players will subject themselves to such a grueling stretch in the middle of the year.
This seems like a big oversight by the PGA Tour.
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