August 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\nRolapp didn’t have details on several issues he faces as he takes over for Commissioner Jay Monahan, including the future of a sport that has been splintered by Saudi money that created the rival LIV Golf League and lured away a number of top players.<\/p>\n
The PGA Tour’s negotiations with the Public Investment Fund have stalled, and Rolapp did not make that sound as if it were a top priority when asked about the fans’ desire to see all the best players together more often.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m going to focus on what I can control,\u201d Rolapp said. “I would offer to you that the best collection of golfers in the world are on the PGA Tour. I think there\u2019s a bunch of metrics that demonstrate that, from rankings to viewership to whatever you want to pick. I\u2019m going to lean into that and strengthen that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will also say that to the extent we can do anything that\u2019s going to further strengthen the PGA Tour, we\u2019ll do that,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m interested in exploring whatever strengthens the PGA Tour.\u201d<\/p>\n
Woods, who has played only 10 times on the PGA Tour since his February 2021 car crash and has been out all of this year with a ruptured Achilles tendon, already serves on the PGA Tour board without a term limit.<\/p>\n
Now he will lead five players from the board \u2014 Patrick Cantlay, Adam Scott, Camilo Villegas, Maverick McNealy and Keith Mitchell \u2014 along with three from the business side. That includes baseball executive Theo Epstein.<\/p>\n
Rolapp is not trying to reinvent a sport that held its first championship in 1860. He said among his early observations, after two decades at the NFL, was the strength and momentum of the PGA Tour.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy key takeaway when you boil all this down is that the strength of the PGA Tour is strong, but there\u2019s much more we need to do, much more we need to change for the benefit of fans, players and our partners,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said the committee would be guided by parity (he conceded golf already has that), scarcity and simplicity.<\/p>\n
The tour released a 2026 schedule on Tuesday that adds another $20 million signature event, this one to Trump National Doral, as part of a 35-event schedule from January through August. Rolapp said the simplicity was mostly about connecting the regular season to the postseason.<\/p>\n
He referred to the committee’s work as a \u201cholistic relook of how we compete on the tour\u201d during the regular season, postseason and offseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal is not incremental change,\u201d he said. \u201cThe goal is significant change.\u201d<\/p>\n
He did not set a timetable for any of it. The Tour Championship ends this week at East Lake for the top 30 players. The tour has eliminated the built-in advantage for top seeds so that everyone starts from scratch.<\/p>\n
The committee is a smaller version of the PGA Tour Enterprises board and policy board. Joining Epstein from the business side are board chairman Joe Gorder and John Henry of Fenway Sports Group, who leads the Strategic Sports Group that invested $1.5 billion \u2014 with the potential to double that \u2014 into the tour in a minority investment announced 18 months ago.<\/p>\n
Rolapp said he had a lot of ideas how to the use the money but none he was ready to share. But he said the involvement of SSG was a big reason he took the job.<\/p>\n
“Not only does it provide necessary capital as we work through this competitive model and improved commercial model, I also think it also brings learnings from other sports, which I think is beneficial … to grow the PGA Tour.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think outside perspective is always a very good thing, as long as it\u2019s applied in the right way. I think SSG has brought that and has been helpful.”<\/p>\n
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AP golf: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/golf<\/a><\/p>\n