PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolopp says The Players as a major ‘not for us to decide’
PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolopp conducted a news conference at the PGA Tour Global Home on March 11, outlining plans foe the future Tour schedule.
The PGA Tour is debating drastic changes to its schedule and format moving forward, and its new CEO revealed some of the ideas that could be implemented as soon as next season.
Brian Rolapp introduced several potential proposals to emerge from behind-the-scenes discussions with the PGA Tour’s Future Competition Committee chaired by Tiger Woods, citing the need for “a better competitive model.” Their vision would overhaul golf’s calendar if approved by the PGA Tour Board of Directors.
The plans include the implementation of a promotion and relegation system for golfers modeled after English Premier League soccer, an enhanced playoff system built around match play and more events in major U.S. media markets.
“Players have told me repeatedly that meritocracy is our greatest strength, and we intend to build on that even further,” Rolapp told reporters from PGA Tour headquarters on Wednesday, March 11. “The committee’s focus has been on a competitive model built on meritocracy. This is not a closed shop. We are aiming to create a more cohesive schedule with a simpler point system, one where the best players compete against one another more frequently.”
Rolapp emphasized that no decisions have been finalized yet. All changes would have to be ratified by a vote of the PGA Policy Board. A majority of its 12 members are PGA Tour golfers, including Woods and Patrick Cantlay.
But Rolapp, the former NFL executive hired by the PGA Tour in June 2025, noted various areas of consensus starting to emerge from the committee’s deliberations, one day before the first round of the 2026 Players Championship begins.
An emphasis on playing the PGA Tour season from late January to early September with 21 to 26 tournaments on a “first track” of elevated events with the best players and biggest purses, including the four majors, The Players Championship, playoff events and either the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup. Rolapp said this would effectively double the number of signature events compared to how many are being held this season (eight).There will be a “second track of tournaments which will ladder up to those elevated events,” according to Rolapp, and apply elements of the EPL’s promotion and relegation system in the EPL to the PGA Tour. Rolapp added that there’s support for an end-of-season event revolving around promotion and relegation, but details of how the system would work are still being ironed out. “Second track” events could happen during gaps in the summer golf calendar, as well as in the fall offseason schedule.The PGA Tour will move away from smaller fields and no-cut events, with 120-golfer fields featuring a cut mentioned as a target for the biggest events.The PGA Tour wants to open its season “big,” Rolapp said, “with a marquee event at an iconic venue in the west … allowing us to finish on network television in primetime on the East Coast.The PGA Tour wants more events in major U.S. media markets, either by establishing new tournaments or moving pre-existing ones. Rolapp said the PGA Tour currently only competes in four of the top 10 media markets in the country. He noted New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston, Washington, D.C. and others are being evaluated for future PGA Tour opportunities. He also said the PGA Tour plans to have several international events, though “the bulk” of its tournaments will remain in the U.S.The PGA Tour is considering a match-play format at The Tour Championship or across all of its FedEx Cup postseason events in hopes of bringing “a win-or-go-home” excitement to the end of the season. “We have heard from our fans and our partners that they want more drama,” Rolapp said.
The Future Competition Committee will continue to work on the proposals throughout the 2026, according to Rolapp, with an update scheduled to be provided at the Travelers Championship after a PGA Tour board meeting on June 22. A rolling approach is being considered, with some changes instituted ahead of the 2027 season and more significant changes implemented in 2028.
The 2026 PGA Tour season features 35 FedEx Cup events leading into the FedEx Cup playoffs, which conclude with The Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.