Schedule tinkering has been a recurring theme for the PGA Tour over the last few years, ever since LIV Golf shocked the ecosystem of professional golf by snatching some of the world’s most popular players.
Commissioner Jay Monahan had a tumultuous tenure with decisions he made after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund started making moves, and it appears new CEO Brian Rolapp may want to further adjust the PGA Tour’s schedule.
While we don’t have a ton of information yet, Harris English might have leaked some before playing in the final tournament of the year, the RSM Classic in Sea Island.
The Ryder Cupper noted there’s talk of the Tour schedule starting after the Super Bowl, which could mean the demise of longstanding tournaments in Hawaii and significant adjustments to the West Coast Swing.
Even more interestingly, English mentioned Rolapp pushing for additional changes and possibly holding only 20 to 22 events a year starting in 2027.
He said that move would make all tournaments “equal,” with the best players participating in each event rather than rotating between regular tournaments and elevated events with varying field strengths.
I selfishly have some concerns as a pro golf super fan
It’s crucial to note Rolapp’s past. He spent more than 20 years working for the NFL. English himself mentioned the schedule may start after the Super Bowl because “we can’t really compete with football.” Rolapp’s first big move as the new CEO was hiring two former NFL executives to the Tour’s leadership team.
So, it seems pretty evident the Tour wants to avoid ever competing with the NFL—and may even be moving toward a schedule and format that more closely mirrors the NFL’s shorter season.
On top of that, this schedule and format would make the Tour even more similar to LIV Golf, which feels like the opposite of what it should be embracing.
Professional golf is, and probably always will be, a niche sport. The majors reign supreme and the rest of the tournaments fill the calendar to give the biggest fans something to watch nearly every weekend of the year.
It’s called the PGA Tour for a reason. It tours North America year-round, visiting some historic venues and maintaining sponsorships and partnerships that have lasted for decades.
It’s also one of the fairest systems in all of sports. You earn your stay. Players get a substantial amount of starts and need to keep performing to tee it up again next season. Outside of some sketchy sponsor exemptions, there is no favoritism (but that’s a story for another day).
As a golf sicko, I can admit I enjoy the RSM Classic just as much, if not more, than an elevated event like the Travelers Championship. I like watching players grinding it out to keep their card or a journeyman getting his first career win more than seeing the same field (and same leaderboard) three weeks in a row.
I realize not everyone is like me. The casual fan wants to watch majors and maybe a Sunday leaderboard with some of the world’s best.
But the more diluted that occurrence becomes, the less likely it is to grab someone’s attention.
Trying to appease the casual fan could alienate the diehards
That’s why it seems backward to cut half of the schedule away, leave historic venues and provide fewer starts for players who make up most of the Tour.
Twenty events with exactly the same field spaced weeks apart could start to feel a bit monotonous. The ever-evolving Tour schedule has its ebbs and flows. It’s nice to get different fields and different storylines each tournament. Also, cuts matter!
As we wrote a few weeks ago, it was intriguing to watch Ben Griffin arrive in Mexico as the clear favorite, step up and handle the added pressure with another victory.
Look at J.J. Spaun. Before this season, he was a career journeyman who would likely have struggled to gain footing under this proposed system.
Spaun made his living by coming up big in smaller events over the past few years. He barely finished in the top 100 in the FedEx Cup last year and is now No. 6 in the world (and a U.S. Open champion).
Underdog stories are so common and meaningful to the Tour. Without them, a lot of flair is missing.
The Tour will never be the NFL and it shouldn’t try to be. But it clearly has a passionate fan base that enjoys most things about it.
Could it cut a handful of events? Sure. But continuing to drastically mess with a schedule that has largely worked for a long time doesn’t seem like the right direction for a Tour that should be differentiating from LIV Golf rather than becoming more like it.
If it wants to truly satisfy fans and attract more eyes, continue improving the product. Play more interesting courses, use more interesting setups, hold unique events like this week’s Skins Game to market players and focus on enhancing broadcasts.
Top Photo Caption: Both Hawaii events could be in danger. (GETTY IMAGES/Mike Mulholland)
Charles Panco
6 months ago
Of all the discussion I hear nothing about the charitable aspect of all these tournaments they want to end. Isn’t the tour a tax-exempt organization any more?