Follow us on Google Discover There are big changes coming to the PGA Tour, as CEO Brian Rolapp plans to revamp the entire schedule.
Starting in 2028, there will be no more Signature Events. Instead, there will be around 20 events of equal value, a two-tier system featuring promotion and relegation, and potentially match play in the FedEx Cup playoffs.
The details are still being ironed out, although a few pieces of the puzzle are already falling into place. The first tier will feature the Travelers Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational in their usual spots, and the Sentry at Torrey Pines.
That’s a great start, but Golf Channel analyst Rex Hoggard said he recently heard things about the new PGA Tour schedule which shocked a tournament director.
Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty ImagesWhat Rex Hoggard has heard about the new PGA Tour schedule
There’s still some big questions to be answered by Rolapp and the PGA Tour about the new schedule, but Hoggard has heard some things that will shed some light on the future. But he said that the reported purse size for these new events shocked a tournament director.
Speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast with Rex and Lav, he said, “Right now, the rumor for a Championship price tag, and this is per year starting in 2028, the rumor is between $33m and $37m. To put that into context, I called a tournament director yesterday and asked him if he had heard anything about this.
“He was taken aback. He gave me a woof! He did not expect $37m, but it gives you an idea of how Brian Rolapp and the PGA Tour are going to leverage this. They knew the window was going to close quickly and maybe one of those current eight signature events.
“I just assume they are all going to be roll over and be tier one events, that is probably not going to be true and there will be a little bit of attrition, but I have also been told by a source close to these negotiations with knowledge of what is going on, that they are making movements on every single front and that is for tier one and tier two events.
Brian Rolapp gives you the opportunity to make one change to the PGA Tour, what are you doing?
What is top of your agenda?
“The idea being that they have already locked up one of those big markets they have been talking about, whether that’s Chicago or San Francisco, and they are already in discussions with the other big markets.
“The idea of the broadcast partners, to get to the media rights, they love the idea of not only what the regular season is going to become but also what they are going to do with the playoffs.
“We have wrestled with the idea that they have never quite gotten the FedEx playoff right. We are talking about two decades of trial and mostly error. They love the idea of let’s do match play, let’s do this the right way, let’s have fun with it and take it to some venues which really haven’t seen PGA Tour golf.
“We have seen how the Walker Cup has worked so well going to iconic venues; the idea is let’s do a two-week All-Star game, but let’s make it really cool. So everything is starting to fall into place.”
$37 million events would be a large step up from the current $20 million purses of the Signature Events. It’s made easier with the tour playing fewer events, but the tournament director’s reaction tells you all you need to know about just how much prize money that is.
But if they can pull it off, it solves their biggest issue: getting players to play events. If that’s the type of money on the line every week, the players will be there.
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