Over the summer, the PGA saw a major change in leadership. This was Brian Rolapp stepping into the position of CEO after leaving the NFL. Already, Rolapp is looking at new ways to improve the league and to bring in more viewers and fans. He plans on doing this by creating “more events that matter.” In an interview on the CNBC’s CEO Council Forum, Rolapp laid out his plans for the Tour.
Rolapp On The Competitive Nature Of Golf
Brian Rolapp made it a point to bring up a few key principles that the sport needs to meet to adapt. He started by praising how competitive each tournament can get, where it can be genuinely difficult to tell who will take home the win. As a matter of fact, being the best player in the world doesn’t guarantee a win. For example, Scottie Sheffler is number one in the world, yet he doesn’t have a career grand slam under his belt, and has only 19 wins out of the 150 events he has played in. Rolapp stated that a razor-thin difference between the No. 1 and the No. 50 would be a great asset. He called it the hardest part of what he wanted for the sport, and it already had that long before he arrived.
Rolapp Explains The Schedule Revamp
A goal Rollapp has for the schedule is to make it more summer-focused. This way, golf doesn’t compete with other major sports, such as football. During this interview, the idea of starting after the Super Bowl was floated, and Brian Rolapp said that it was a future he could see. At some point, there was a concern that this was more based on Rolapp’s experience with the NFL. Rolapp had this to say:
“It’s not NFL-izing, it’s creating more events that matter. This isn’t taking the NFL model and applying it to golf; it is taking principles that fans across sports have said – I will reward you with my time if you make an event that matters. That’s what we’re striving for, every event should really matter.”
Rolapp believes that the fans could benefit from a schedule like this. Similar schedules have been used in other sports and have made everything a bit tighter. Now, a question that will come up is whether or not golf is the right sport for this.
The PGA has events happening from January until August, every weekend with the majors included. A change like the one being outlined in the interview suggests that some events would be dropped, or a the very least moved around the schedule.
Brian Rolapp On When The Changes Will Be Made
Right now, all the changes that Rollapp has underlined are a work in progress. Nothing is exactly set in stone, and there’s no guarantee that they will all be implemented for the 2026 season. Any change that would be made will be very much experimental. The changes are still under debate, and there is no guarantee that they will see the light of day.
Main Photo Credit: © Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
