CROMWELL, Conn. — The PGA Tour has new leadership.
Jay Monahan, the current commissioner of the PGA Tour, will step down from his position at the end of 2026 to make way for the new CEO, Brian Rolapp. The tour officially announced Rolapp’s hire from the NFL on Tuesday.
The search for a CEO to be at the helm of the PGA Tour began at the start of this year, with an implication that Monahan could phase out of his role upon an eventual hire. Monahan will stay on through the duration of his contract, with Rolapp taking over his day-to-day responsibilities when he officially steps into the role later this summer. Monahan will turn his focus over to his roles on both the PGA Tour Policy Board and the PGA Tour Enterprises Board.
Rolapp addressed the PGA Tour in an open letter on Tuesday morning, sent as he joined a players-only meeting that took place here at the Travelers Championship. The seasoned executive has held various leadership roles at the NFL over the last two decades, notably serving as the chief negotiator for the NFL’s $110 billion media deals with ESPN, NBC, Fox, CBS and Amazon. Many believed he could be Roger Goodell’s successor as the NFL commissioner, but Goodell’s contract has been extended again, The Athletic reported last month.
Addressing the media for the first time since his official appointment, Rolapp emphasized his blank-slate approach to the role, as well as his ability to respect tradition without letting it hinder progress. He comes into the job as the PGA Tour and LIV Golf continue to operate in a fractured state, with negotiations between the tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund, LIV’s financial backer, stalling in recent months.
While Rolapp did not comment on a specific plan to bring the tours together, he noted that the best players competing together on the same stages is what fans of the game want. As a self-proclaimed fan of the game, Rolapp aligned with that sentiment.
“When it comes to the situation with LIV, I think that’s a complex situation that’s probably something I should learn more about before I speak. But I will say my focus is on growing the Tour, making it better and really moving on from the position of strength that it has,” Rolapp said.
Rolapp and Tiger Woods, who served on the search committee to hire a PGA Tour CEO. (Tracy Wilcox / PGA Tour)
Rolapp said he was drawn to the role for a variety of reasons, but he specifically pointed to the $1.5 billion investment from Strategic Sports Group, a private equity group of American sports team owners and leaders, as a significant influence in his interest. That money, which the Public Investment Fund could match if a deal is completed, has not been spent. The tour has previously stated its plans to give players a stake in its future, in the form of equity grants.
“Where we deploy that capital, I have ideas,” Rolapps said. “I don’t think I want to share them now, but that’s going to be part of the job to get in there and talk about it. But I think they saw what I saw, which is a great opportunity, and just getting sort of the right alignment and the right capital to do that, that’s what really drew me to it. It’s an investor group that is experienced in sports. They’re smart.”
Members of the CEO search committee were on hand for Rolapp’s announcement, including Tiger Woods, Adam Scott and Monahan.
Monahan’s tenure as PGA Tour commissioner began in January 2017. Many lauded his ability to guide the sport through the COVID-19 pandemic. When the threat of LIV Golf emerged in 2021, Monahan took a strong stance against the start-up league, a move that would come back to haunt him when the PGA Tour announced a shocking framework agreement with the PIF in 2023. Players and constituents in the game criticized Monahan for operating behind closed doors and flipping his previously declared stance on the issue.
Rolapp, who admittedly plays between five and 10 rounds of golf per year, shared his intention to learn from Monahan as he transitions out of his role.
“No one hired me for my golf game here. That’s not my job. My job is to do other things. But I’m a big fan of the sport,” Rolapp said.
(Top photo: Courtesy Tracy Wilcox / PGA Tour)
