Brian Rolapp has been confirmed as the new CEO of the PGA Tour, with the former NFL man coming in to replace Jay Monahan who will be stepping away at the end of 2026.
Rolapp joins the tour at a critical point, with the US-based circuit currently in talks with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, which backs the rival LIV Golf League, over how to end the fractured landscape of men's professional golf.
He also has a lot of money to spend thanks to $1.5bn of investment from the Sports Strategic Group as well as plenty of other issues to solve like keeping his star players happy, creating the best schedule, improving the product for fans, the PGA Tour's ongoing issue with slow play and many others.
So what would we like to see from Rolapp? Our writers have their say...
Jay Monahan wasn't exactly universally popular, but you have to say that he's left the tour in a very good way for Rolapp all things considered with the pandemic and LIV Golf's emergence over the past five years.
The tour is, however, lacking some of the game's biggest stars like Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka so that will be issue number one for him to solve. Can he sort out a deal with the PIF? If not, can he somehow coax these top players back from LIV Golf or at least allow them to play on both tours? I want to see DeChambeau, Rahm, Koepka, Niemann, DJ, Garcia and a handful of others back on the PGA Tour. So do fans and so do, I would think, SSG.
I am not massively worried about slow play but that is certainly a problem for many fans, while I think the Signature Event model is fundamentally flawed and needs to be sorted - as I have previously written. The fields need to be larger as the tour is full of world class players who can win in any given week, and every event needs a cut in my view.
I would also like to see him offer more cards to college stars via the PGA Tour University. Would Josele Ballester, who finished 3rd in PGA Tour U, have still gone to LIV Golf had he secured a PGA Tour card? Probably, based on his close ties with Sergio Garcia, but maybe not. He had to choose between the Korn Ferry Tour and LIV Golf, which isn't the hardest of decisions. Had a full PGA Tour card been on offer, as it was to Ludvig Aberg, Luke Clanton, Jackson Koivun and Gordon Sargent, it would have been a much more difficult choice.
The college system is producing more and more world class players who are ready to cut their teeth and become stars straight away. They are the future of the tour so hopefully Rolapp sees that - which he should, considering he comes from a football background.
Rolapp should mandate that his players speak to media after rounds, if requested, as well.
I'd also like to hear from Rolapp regularly. Jay Monahan barely communicated with fans and I think that was a shame.
That's a long enough list from me... I could go on-and-on. I'd obviously like the FedEx Cup Fall series or a proper break sorted, fewer tournaments, better collaboration with the LPGA Tour (why is a $20m Signature Event with 45 of the world's best players clashing with a women's Major this week?), big sports cities like New York and Chicago visited more often, the Tour Championship revamped (again) and much more but I'll leave it at that.
There's plenty that I would like to see from Rolapp and, thinking outside of the usual 'getting the PGA Tour/PIF deals over the line,' or the 'pace of play' being improved box, I want to see a schedule that isn't so US heavy.
I acknowledge that the US provides the most when it comes to corporate sponsorship, viewership and money, but why can't we have more events in Europe, Asia or Australia?
Why can't we re-jig the Signature Event model and make the national Opens the big tournaments in golf behind the Majors?
Put it this way, would you rather watch a $20 million event around TPC River Highlands (no disrespect to that course), or a $20 million tournament around Royal Melbourne? It's a no brainer!
Take some of the stand-out events from 2024. The Genesis Scottish Open was a thriller that created a home-hero in Robert MacIntyre. Scottie Scheffler won an Olympic gold medal in France via a back nine 29. LIV Golf Adelaide was one of the most supported tournaments in a country of 27 million. Angel Hidalgo defeated Jon Rahm in an epic playoff to win his Home Open. The list goes on.
Away from that, I think the PGA Tour/PIF deal needs to be completed. The PGA Tour may be enjoying a rise in viewership, but surely adding the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Joaquin Niemann and Rahm back to the picture can only heighten the product further.
What's more, I would also like to hear more from Rolapp in terms of updates and press conferences, something that, with Monahan, we never did.
The PGA Tour is certainly not in a bad place right now, but there are a few changes that I'd love to see new CEO, Brian Rolapp make - even if one or two might be unrealistic due to logistical reasons.
Firstly, the schedule is too congested and could do with a few tweaks. I know the more prestigious events are largely when the NFL season is not, but it feels way too concentrated during the summer.
It goes from 0-100 and there's hardly time for fans or players to breathe in between.
One way of making the schedule more efficient is simply to reduce the number of Signature Events by a couple, giving more space in between the biggest events.
I would still include the tournaments, but one or two could easily lose the $20 million purse and still retain enough meaning to warrant a slot.
Secondly, in relation to Signature Events, each of them should have a cut. Tournaments with a 36-hole cut are infinitely more interesting than those without and create dual storylines for fans to follow.
Another key change I would implore Rolapp to make as soon as possible is to reverse the 100-card rule for the PGA Tour. There are still good players between 100-125 who add plenty to the tour, and I think losing them would create too much turnover in fields with fans lost at some of the names popping up each year.
The feeder system could be tweaked again, creating a fairer system for players all over the world to make it to the top table.
Clearly, the new CEO needs to find a way to bring back LIV Golf's stars, whether that's on a part-time basis as part of a structure that works for both circuits, or by aggressively pursuing those players whose contracts are due for renewal.
Listening to the fans is also of paramount importance.
Whether it's through regular fan forums or a team dedicated to fan liaison, the product has to work for viewers above all else. At the moment, I don't think it's doing that.
I'd love to see the abolition of Signature Events – I don't know a single person who thinks they're better than what preceded them.
Pace of play has been a problem for a long time and I'd like to either see creative ways of dealing with that or a strict adherence to a new policy that sets out clearly when shots are docked.
And finally, I'd like to the introduction of a rule whereby PGA Tour members have to play in at least three non-Major DPWT events each year.
I don't think that's too much to ask, especially given the strategic partnership that's in place between the two tours.
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