You’ve heard of the PGA Tour changes. Here’s what they said
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – On Wednesday morning, PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp laid out six “themes” where the Tour is headed. He did it in a room surrounded by about 1,100 people, many of whom were paid by the Tour, but many others were paid by players, golf media, major corporations, etc.
These topics, and countless others, have been covered in many meetings over the past six months. Many of those meetings involved Tiger Woods and the Future Tournament Committee, the PGA Tour’s new investor at Strategic Sports Group, and several board members whose job it is to define the future.
Rolapp’s press conference may have been short on specifics, but that’s because the minutia is still being hammered out. In theory at least, it was an important (if vague) line in the sand, telling the world what to expect. I’m here to tell you more about what the details mean.
Theme No. 1: Cut plan
The PGA Tour schedule for the future will have somewhere between 21 and 26 events from late January through September. (Overall, it would prefer to avoid September if possible, and would be drawn that way only on regular Ryder Cup and President Cup dates.) Twenty-one to 26 is about 12 to 15 fewer events than the Tour has now.
Why are few better? Which sports league is included in its schedule?
The answer is about creating a shortage of events and trying to pack in more in the middle those events. In modern PGA Tour terms, that means more guarantees that the top 100 in the Tour 100 show up in the weeks you tell them to show up. The Tour won’t be able to do that across the board, but it should try its best to do so. That way you create a predictable, marketable product for the TV market.
The reason Rolapp says “21 to 26” is because it’s not fully finished yet. The schedule will include all four majors, players, playoff events and a year-end team competition. But a strong commercial sense may require 21. A player-oriented approach may depend on the flexibility of 26. That will be disrupted in the next few months. But here’s the bottom line:
With $20 million (or more!) in revenue everything in these events, the professionals on this Tour will be financially prosperous.
Theme No. 2: 120 player events, WITH CUTTING
One hundred and twenty. That’s the size of the fields for this upcoming tour, which should be considered a big win for players who haven’t played Signature Events in recent years. Those who finished 51 to 100 in FedEx could not separate the major events. Now they will do, which should give ease in their efforts to build a routine.
But just because the fields are going to be big doesn’t mean it’s going to be a cakewalk, because all those events will have 36 hole cuts. A long time staple of pro golf at the highest level are players who hit their tees on Friday evening and walk off the course because their play has not been up to par. That helps make Friday fun again, which should sound like a win for broadcasters.
Theme No. 3. The splashing start is from the WEST
The upcoming seasons will officially begin in late January and will begin somewhere on the west coast. You might think, Isn’t it already?
Yes, but the Tour has implemented a plan to move out of Hawaii, a beautiful island where it costs a lot of money to host a tournament. Instead, the Tour will likely start in San Diego at Torrey Pines – aligned with the week before the Super Bowl – or at the WM Phoenix Open, which is usually played the week of the Super Bowl.
The legendary Pebble Beach track is believed to be a rough start for the Tour, but each passing week brings a better chance for sunny skies in Monterey. It might be better for the third in a row. Above all, the start of the Tour will be on time, and it will also attract broadcasters.
Theme 4: Return to the big metros
Rolapp addressed a number of major cities at a press conference Wednesday: Chicago, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, DC
Everything cities the Tour visits every year. That is about to change. It does not mean that the small communities that currently host Tourism events will be forgotten. It just means that the greatest of all events will eventually go to some of the biggest markets in the country.
Many people say the extra money for the tickets provides a great setting to improve the moments that define the history of travel. Apparently, that’s more important to the tourism market than its history of bringing a few notable players to Silvis, Ill.
Memphis and Maryland are unlikely to host playoff events like they did last year. Chicago and New York? It is very possible.
Theme 5: Promotion and demotion
This is compelling juice for the future of Tourism. It will take a clean, solid state two levels have two different systems. Rolapp used the word “tracks” but “sections” will suffice as well. The top division will play those 21 to 26 events mentioned above. The next division will play its season fighting to rise to that high level.
European soccer fans understand this better than American soccer fans. Promotion and relegation is the crux of entertainment that encourages even the worst countries to pursue victory (and promotion) even in their worst seasons. Because the threat of relegation means they will need to work harder to get promoted again.
What will that look like in reality? Maybe the bottom 20 to 25% of those top 120 players get demoted and the same number promoted to the second tier. For example, Max Homa’s 2025 saw him finish 111th in the FedEx Cup Final, his worst finish in seven years, brought about by his worst golf in seven years. Simply put, that level of golf will not be rewarded by the new system, and will see Homa relegated.
For those who don’t know the concept, the attraction is in the fight to stay still or wake up. FedEx Cup No. 87-90 playing the worst golf of their season in August, knows that a 91-100 number can take them over with a good week. Yes, the Tour uses the current boost, which is a much milder version of the drop. This tomorrow will probably be very tough.
But here’s the important thing: a second stage with a well-defined schedule and a universal promotion goal can make for a more predictable schedule. It may also include higher purses than those currently offered by Korn Ferry Tour again the DP World Tour. This is not Single A baseball.
Theme 6: Postseason drama
The Tour never got its postseason right and it knows it. The proof: the endless format buzz and multiple iterations of the FedEx Cup Playoffs over the past decade alone.
Considering the Tour doesn’t have the five major golf associations (the majors and the Ryder Cup), you have to try to create the most exciting playoffs imaginable. If that means a bit of a letdown — like playing a game to end a season full of stroke play, Rolapp made it clear that’s too much on the table. Luckily for him, we already made a video about that. Check it out below.
