5 key questions that still need answers as the PGA Tour makeover continues

CROMWELL, Conn. — There was a metaphor popular for a time with business schools that tried explaining the most logical approach to finding tangible solutions to an oversized problem: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”

That metaphor has been useful for PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp and the Future Competition Committee since it was created last August with the mission of overhauling the competitive ecosystem of the PGA Tour. Over the last nine months, the group has wrestled with trying to improve a product that has an endless number of moving parts and many constituents to appease—top players, middle-level players, tournaments, sponsors, media and, perhaps most importantly, fans.

“We started with all sorts of ideas, some good, a lot bad,” Rolapp said. “We went in with a blank sheet of paper … no dumb ideas, but then that was a really healthy part of the process, but I think we landed where we were.”

The early result of that work was revealed Tuesday at TPC River Highlands, site of this week’s Travelers Championship. In a clubhouse ballroom, Rolapp announced that PGA Tour Boards had approved the creation of a system with two co-existing series—Championship and Challenge—that offer defined promotion and relegation, a reimagined postseason and a schedule built around markets that the tour has previously ignored.

“This structure creates more compelling competition for fans and greater opportunity for players, bringing stronger value to our partners and the ability to further our philanthropic mission,” Rolapp said.

While pleased with what he was able to present now, Rolapp noted: “We have made meaningful progress, but our work is far from finished.”

Indeed, taking the above metaphor further, how much of the elephant has the tour eaten so far and how much is still on the plate? There would appear to be many details still to be finalized, including schedules, determining eligibility criteria for the two series and how to integrate pathways from the DP World Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, PGA Tour Americas and PGA Tour University.

Here then are five critical questions that still need answers in the coming months:

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What events will be on the Championship Series and which ones will be on Challenge Series events?

Rolapp announced that the Championship Series will consist of 23 to 24 tournaments “opening big” in February and running through August. That will include majors, postseason events, team competitions and 15 regular-season tournaments with 120-man fields, a 36-hole cut and a minimum purse of $20 million.

In contrast, the Challenge Series will feature at least 20 events with 144-player fields and cuts, with minimum purses of $4 million

As for what current events would be part of the Championship Series, Rolapp said that those decisions are still being made. He did reveal that 10 of 15 regular- season events have been lined up for 2028. “The remaining five spots will either be filled by existing events or new markets,” Rolapp said.

What Rolapp didn’t offer were any hints about current events and where they might land in the new structure. For instance, does Colonial become part of the Championship Series while the CJ Cup Byron Nelson is a Challenge Series stop? Yeah, he wasn’t going there.

Even when discussing the event at which he made the announcement, the Travelers, which has been a signature event for the past few seasons, Rolapp was cautious in describing its status. “I will say this has been an extremely successful tournament by every metric,” he said. “Our members love it. The Travelers is an amazing partner. We obviously have an affinity for this course. This is a market that doesn’t get many professional sports. It’s an opportunity for us. They do a wonderful job. So I think they do a lot of things that we’re looking for in a Championship Series event.”

Sources say negotiations with current PGA Tour events will now begin in earnest with the two-series structure formally approved. And that’s when some hard conversations with long-time events will start to transpire. But don’t expect a full schedule to be revealed until the first quarter of 2027.

What does going to new markets really mean?

Throughout the process, Rolapp has mentioned that the PGA Tour needs to make sure it has a regular presence in the country’s biggest metropolitan areas. Specifically, he has singled out places like New York, Boston, Denver, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.

Again, with the foundation now in place, Rolapp says he and the tour can begin to put out to market with the idea of new venues coming on board to host tour events. But how do they not only go to a big city but make sure they play at courses in those areas that provide the best tests for the game’s elite?

“I think the goal is to go to prestigious courses that we’re not there a lot, that fans will recognize as prestigious,” Rolapp said.

What the tour has going for it is that it can offer the idea of hosting an event annually or every few years as part of the rotating venues that will be used to hold the Tour Championship. The hope is that those options make holding a tour event more appealing.

Rolapp also offered up another way for the tour to move to new markets … one that involves taking advantage of the $1.5 billion that SSG has invested in PGA Tour Enterprises.

“We’re also not above building things on our own [venue],” he said. “I think one of the most successful tournaments in the world, you can’t argue it, is the Players Championship. That was a course that was built for that event. That’s certainly on the table.”

Could the PGA Tour create more venues like it did with TPC Sawgrass to support championship events? CEO Brian Rolapp said it’s possible.

Ben Jared

What will the schedule look like in terms of pacing?

The introduction of signature events the last couple of years on the PGA Tour created a series of issues for the top players trying to play in these events while also not playing too much golf. This year’s schedule had seven signature events or majors played in a 11-week span. In 2027, there will be a similar five signature events in seven-week run.

Several PGA Tour players have mentioned the hope that there would be weeks off around the majors to help either in their preparation or in their decompression from these events.

Rolapp said the discussion on pacing continues to be ongoing and that possible off weeks around majors are still being debated. “I think it might vary,” he said. “I think you talk to the members, they all have their preference. … You can’t design a schedule for 200-plus guys, but I think they’ll be a balance.”

Rolapp acknowledged that players cannot play every week and that as the schedule becomes more clear, they will not be required to play every event. “So we aren’t changing the model. They’re not under contract,” he said. “We’re not going to force them to play anything. But we do think we’ve designed a model that will allow them to take some tournaments off and still compete for the regular season title and other things.”

How will the fall International event schedule really work and how will players be compelled to play?

Separate from the two series that will be played from February to August, Rolapp said the PGA Tour will work to develop a fall calendar that includes a limited series of elevated international events that top players from the Championship Series will be eligible for. The tour will work with the DP World Tour as part of the strategic alliance, which expires in 2027, with the tours hoping to extend that.

Sources say the international events could include the BMW PGA Championship, the Dunhill Links at St. Andrews and a handful of national opens that would be moved to this time period.

While the idea of extending the PGA Tour brand oversees sounds appealing, much of the details need to be worked out. Including what incentive players might have to actually compete in these events. Rolapp, however, sounded optimistic that top players aren’t going to want to shut down for four months.

“We’ve talked a lot to our members about this. They clearly want to play outside of the dates that I’ve outlined here. Different members have different motivations for where they play, when they play, why they play. I think in the fall it’s our responsibility to create compelling opportunities for them to do just that.”

Andrew Redington

What’s the fate of the LIV players?

With the future of the LIV Golf League still unclear, the question of how the PGA Tour might integrate LIV players back if the league folded is still a critical one.

Rolapp wouldn’t comment on Tuesday whether he’s had discussions with Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm about a possible return, and he continued to state that it wasn’t a priority at this point with LIV players still under contract to the league.

“I will say our concentration, honestly has been on this. This is what we’ve been concentrating on is how to make the PGA Tour better.

“I read what you read on LIV. I’m not sure what the future of that is or those players. They’re under contract, and until that’s no longer the case, I don’t think we need to overly worry about it. We’re focused on the PGA Tour.”

And there is plenty to focus on there.

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