Jordan Spieth Backs PGA Tour's Big City Plan

Jordan Spieth backed up Brian Rolapp and says the PGA Tour needs to take its biggest tournaments to the USA's biggest cities - and crucially the largest TV markets

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Jordan Spieth at The Open
(Image credit: Getty Images)

PGA Tour boss Brian Rolapp has outlined his vision for the future, and among the headlines is the desire to take golf into bigger markets in bigger cities in the USA.

Ahead of The Players Championship, Rolapp outlined how the PGA Tour would be moving forward, with big news being a proposed two-tier system involving promotion and relegation between them.

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It's a plan that makes perfect sense to Jordan Spieth, who says the aim is to stage some of the PGA Tour's biggest tournaments in some of America's biggest TV Markets.

"We're not in the New York area like we used to be," Spieth told Kay Adams on here Up & Adams Show at Sawgrass.

"We're not in California other than every five or six years for a Major. The PGA Tour's not in California in July, August which is the time to be there.

"So between LA and New York they're looking at the biggest markets and put our biggest events there."

The PGA Tour does already play regular events in California at the start of the year at the likes of Torrey Pines, Riviera and of course Pebble Beach.

One of these could be earmarked for what Rolapp described as "a marquee event at an iconic venue in the west" that he wants to start the new PGA Tour season with.

But the Tour is also keen to play on the West Course courses later in the year when they'd be a much tougher test with much better weather - with Woods saying the Genesis Invitational that he hosts could be moved going forward.

Rolapp noted that the PGA Tour currently plays tournaments in just four of the top 10 TV markets in the USA, something he's determined to change.

"We are evaluating markets like New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington DC, Boston, and many others, places where there is a strong fan demand for our sport, and a chance to reach new fans," said Rolapp.

With some iconic courses dotted around some of the USA's biggest cities, the Rolapp sees it as a priority for raining the PGA Tour exposure, and it seems the players are on board with it.

Paul Higham
Paul Higham
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Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website.  Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush. 

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