PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp held a press conference before The Players Championship, where he outlined ambitious proposals for the circuit, including promotion and relegation, more Signature Events and the return of match play.
Tiger Woods has suggested plans could be in place by the 2027 season
Rolapp has now gone into more detail, outlining the key areas being looked at. He began by explaining that "six themes" are beginning to emerge, before going through each.
The first would see the PGA Tour season begin later, while the number of Signature Events would effectively double. Rolapp explained: "As we look at the calendar, there is an emphasis on playing our season from late January to early September.
"In terms of overall structure, inclusive of the Majors, The Players, and the post-season, we are looking at roughly 21 to 26 tournaments on a first track of elevated events with the best players competing for higher purses."
He then hinted at a system of promotion and relegation - a theme he would return to later. He said: "We will have a second track of PGA Tour tournaments which will ladder up to those elevated events."
Rolapp also outlined a proposal for more consistent fields on the Tour, suggesting the no-cut, limited-field contests common in Signature Events could become a thing of the past.
He explained: "A key consideration has been establishing more consistent fields to the PGA Tour. This means moving away from small fields and no-cut events. Our best events will have larger fields. Ideally, we are targeting something closer to 120-player fields with a cut."
Rolapp also believes a strong start to the PGA Tour season is imperative, which brought him to the third proposal. He said: "We want to open big with a marquee event at an iconic venue in the west, among other things, allowing us to finish on network television in primetime on the East Coast."
Taking the PGA Tour to bigger markets could also be on the way. Rolapp said: "Number four, we are also looking closely at where we play. Today the PGA Tour competes in only four of the top 10 largest US media markets. That is an opportunity.
"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."
As hinted by Rolapp earlier, one of the biggest changes would see a "merit-based system" of promotion and relegation introduced between the two tiers of events. He said: "Our work is not just about those elevated 21 to 26 events, which brings me to number five.
"There has been a lot of discussion about scarcity. Ultimately, scarcity is not about the number of events we have, but rather scarcity is about making every event we have matter.
"This is why we are evaluating the role of promotion and relegation between these two tracks within our competitive model, an added element that we would bring to life in the second track of events I described earlier."
Finally, Rolapp suggested match play could be making a return to the PGA Tour, with a shake-up of the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup Fall section of the season under consideration.
He explained: "We are exploring ways to enhance the post-season. We have heard from our fans and our partners, they want more drama.
"We are considering the potential integration of match play, either at the Tour Championship or across the post-season as a whole, bringing win-or-go-home moments to the conclusion of our season."
The Tour Championship's format could be different in the future
Rolapp also pointed out that none of the proposals are set in stone, adding: "I can't emphasize this enough; nothing has been finalized. We are still doing our work and gathering input from our players, our partners, and other key stakeholders."
However, he outlined a rough timetable of when progress could be made, saying: "We expect to make more meaningful progress by this summer, and following our June 22nd board meeting, I plan to host another press conference at the Travelers Championship."
Rolapp touched on other subjects, too. For example, he confirmed that the PGA Tour is yet to take a firm position on the golf ball rollback, which is slated to be introduced in 2028.
"When we get comfortable with the rule and the data, at that point we'll make a decision," he said.
He also talked about the Tour's Strategic Alliance with the DP World Tour, saying: "We would like to extend that. In fact, we made a proposal to do that, to how to actually create even a more mutual benefit relationship."
On the long-running debate over whether a deal can be struck between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to see them work together, Rolapp seemed less certain, saying: "I think I've been clear about this; my brief is to make the Tour better.
"I'm open to whatever makes the PGA Tour better. That is my brief. Better for fans, better for our members. So that's what I'm focused on, and that's where I put all my efforts."
On a similar theme, he confirmed the Returning Member Program that saw Brooks Koepka pick up his PGA Tour career immediately after leaving LIV Golf is unlikely to be repeated, saying: "We were very explicit that that was a one-time situational returning member program, and I stand by that."
Brooks Koepka used the Returning Member Program to resume his PGA Tour career
However, he didn't write off the chances of LIV Golfers returning to the PGA Tour via appropriate pathways, adding: "We do have a pathway; Patrick Reed is clearly taking advantage of that pathway as he's, I guess, out of his contractual commitment.
"And so I think the LIV players know what those pathways are, and until they change, those are the pathways."
Ultimately, while Rolapp touched on many subjects during his press conference, the "six themes" that could define the future of the PGA Tour seem certain to attract the most scrutiny.
PGA Tour Proposals: Six Big Changes That Could Be On The Way
- Late January-September schedule, 21-26 elevated events
- Larger fields, fewer no-cut, limited-field events
- West coast "marquee" event to start season
- Exploring new markets, including New York, Boston and Washington DC
- Promotion and relegation between two tiers of events
- Integration of match play at Tour Championship or post-season as a whole
