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Overshadowed by the announcement of the massive changes to the PGA Tour schedule on June 23 was a bit of a changing of the guard at the end of the Tour's news conference at the TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn.
The Tour announced that the Policy Board had formally voted to make Brian Rolapp the fifth commissioner of the Tour on Jan. 1, 2027, with Jay Monahan retiring. Rolapp was named the CEO of the Tour and its for-profit arm, PGA Tour Enterprises, last year.
The intention was for Monahan to serve as the commissioner for another year, which will turn into around 18 months. Joe Gorder, chairman of PGA Tour Boards, joked that Monahan plans to retire at the end of the year, "which he continues to believe he's going to do."
Monahan said serving as the PGA Tour Commissioner, which he began in 2017, "has been one of the greatest honors of my professional life."
Monahan said he tried to build on the foundation created by his two predecessors, Deane Beman and Tim Finchem.
"I'm indebted [to Beman and Finchem], for their unwavering belief in our team and for the wisdom and council they've shared over the years," Monahan said."
Monahan had to weather two of the biggest crises in Tour history, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 that forced the cancellation of the Tour's marquee event, The Players Championship, and the creation of the LIV Golf League, which lured some of the Tour's biggest stars away.
The Tour was the first major professional sport to resume competition after the initial weeks of the pandemic and Monahan quickly created more revenue streams for players (signature events and bonuses for social media presence among them) to try and stem the rush of more players going to LIV Golf.
Gorder said Monahan worked hard to ensure a smooth transition to Rolapp, who came to the PGA Tour from the NFL.
"This transition from Jay to Brian has been a textbook transition," Gorder said. "Jay has done an incredible job supporting Brian, providing his wisdom and counsel ... being there every step of the way."
Monahan said Rolapp "was the right leader at the right time."
"He has a remarkable ability to balance innovation with respect for our traditions in this game," Monahan said of Rolapp. "While keeping our players, fans, and partners at the center of every decision."
The Tour will unveil details of the 2028 scheduling format over the next few months but some social media-driven misconceptions were already at work within minutes of Rolapp's news conference.
To clarify some of the aspects of the new format:
None of those courses were mentioned by Rolapp or in the Tour's release. A Tour official said venues are under discussion, but factors to consider are the infrastructure (access roads, parking, and whether a private club's membership policies aren't discriminatory).
The Tour kept the governing bodies of the majors in the loop but never asked them to modify their requirements. By the same token, pros might qualify for The Players Championship from outside the Championship Series.
With all of the hoopla of the schedule roll-out, there is a PGA Tour event this week. The Travelers is the last of eight signature events and the stretch run for the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup Playoffs will begin in earnest with six weeks and eight tournaments remaining on the schedule.
The final tournament to reach the top-70 on the points list and qualify for the playoffs is the Wyndham Championship Aug. 6-9. Brian Harman sits on the No. 70 bubble this week and is only .072 points ahead of David Lipsky, with Brandt Snedeker 9.225 points back.
Event: Travelers Championship, June 25-28, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn.
Purse: $20 million ($3.6 million and 700 FedEx Cup points to the winner).
Defending champion: Keegan Bradley.
TV: Golf Channel (June 25-26, 3-6 p.m.; June 27, 1-3 p.m.; June 28, 2-4 p.m.); NBC (June 27, 3-6 p.m.; June 28, 4-7 p.m.).
Area players: Ludvig Åberg, Bud Cauley, Harris English, Brian Harman, Keith Mitchell, Andrew Novak, J.T. Poston, Aaron Rai.
Event: KPMG Women's PGA Championship, June 25-28, Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, Minn.
Purse: $13 million ($1.95 million to the winner).
Defending champion: Minjee Lee.
Area players: Chella Choi, Auston Kim, Jessica Porvasnik.
TV: Golf Channel (June 25-26, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; 6-8 p.m.); Peacock (June 27, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.; June 28, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.); NBC (June 27, 12-3 p.m.; June 28, 1-4 p.m.).
Event: Dick's Open, June 26-28, En-joie Country Club, Endicott, N.Y.
Purse: $2.2 million ($396,000 to the winner).
Defending champion: Steve Allan.
Area players: David Duval, Fred Funk.
TV: Golf Channel (June 26, 9-11 a.m.; June 27, 3-6 p.m.; June 28, 4-6 p.m.).
Event: Memorial Health Championship, June 25-28, Panther Creek Country Club, Springfield, Ill.
Purse: $1 million ($180,000 to the winner).
2025 champion: Austin Smotherman.
Area players: Tyson Alexander, Sebastian Cappelen, Nick Gabrelcik, Will Gordon, Luke Guthrie, Philip Knowles, Russell Knox, Ben Kohles, David Lingmerth, Doc Redman, Julian Suri, Michael Thompson, Travis Trace, Carl Yuan.
TV: None.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Brian Rolapp will add PGA Tour Commissioner title as of Jan. 1, 2027
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The Tour announced that the Policy Board had formally voted to make Brian Rolapp the fifth commissioner of the Tour on Jan. 1, 2027, with Jay Monahan retiring. Rolapp was named the CEO of the Tour and its for-profit arm, PGA Tour Enterprises, last year.
The intention was for Monahan to serve as the commissioner for another year, which will turn into around 18 months. Joe Gorder, chairman of PGA Tour Boards, joked that Monahan plans to retire at the end of the year, "which he continues to believe he's going to do."
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Monahan said serving as the PGA Tour Commissioner, which he began in 2017, "has been one of the greatest honors of my professional life."
Monahan said he tried to build on the foundation created by his two predecessors, Deane Beman and Tim Finchem.
"I'm indebted [to Beman and Finchem], for their unwavering belief in our team and for the wisdom and council they've shared over the years," Monahan said."
Monahan had to weather two of the biggest crises in Tour history, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 that forced the cancellation of the Tour's marquee event, The Players Championship, and the creation of the LIV Golf League, which lured some of the Tour's biggest stars away.
The Tour was the first major professional sport to resume competition after the initial weeks of the pandemic and Monahan quickly created more revenue streams for players (signature events and bonuses for social media presence among them) to try and stem the rush of more players going to LIV Golf.
Gorder said Monahan worked hard to ensure a smooth transition to Rolapp, who came to the PGA Tour from the NFL.
"This transition from Jay to Brian has been a textbook transition," Gorder said. "Jay has done an incredible job supporting Brian, providing his wisdom and counsel ... being there every step of the way."
Monahan said Rolapp "was the right leader at the right time."
"He has a remarkable ability to balance innovation with respect for our traditions in this game," Monahan said of Rolapp. "While keeping our players, fans, and partners at the center of every decision."
Some answers on PGA Tour schedule roll-out
The Tour will unveil details of the 2028 scheduling format over the next few months but some social media-driven misconceptions were already at work within minutes of Rolapp's news conference.
To clarify some of the aspects of the new format:
- The Tour did not get into specifics about new venues for Championship Series events or playoff events. When Rolapp said the Tour might play at courses "the PGA Tour has never visited again," speculation almost immediately centered on historic courses such as Pine Valley, Seminole and Cypress Point.
None of those courses were mentioned by Rolapp or in the Tour's release. A Tour official said venues are under discussion, but factors to consider are the infrastructure (access roads, parking, and whether a private club's membership policies aren't discriminatory).
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- With the advent of the Challenge Series, the Korn Ferry Tour, PGA Tour Americas, and the PGA Tour University program are not automatically going away. There may be changes, but Rolapp said, "We remain committed to investing in that, in order to continue to build a pipeline of the next generation of PGA Tour players."
- The major championships are part of the Championship Series, and will continue to fill their fields with their own eligibility criteria, setting them apart from the 120 players or so who will be eligible for the series events.
The Tour kept the governing bodies of the majors in the loop but never asked them to modify their requirements. By the same token, pros might qualify for The Players Championship from outside the Championship Series.
Travelers Championship is the final signature event
With all of the hoopla of the schedule roll-out, there is a PGA Tour event this week. The Travelers is the last of eight signature events and the stretch run for the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup Playoffs will begin in earnest with six weeks and eight tournaments remaining on the schedule.
The final tournament to reach the top-70 on the points list and qualify for the playoffs is the Wyndham Championship Aug. 6-9. Brian Harman sits on the No. 70 bubble this week and is only .072 points ahead of David Lipsky, with Brandt Snedeker 9.225 points back.
PGA Tour
Event: Travelers Championship, June 25-28, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn.
Purse: $20 million ($3.6 million and 700 FedEx Cup points to the winner).
Defending champion: Keegan Bradley.
TV: Golf Channel (June 25-26, 3-6 p.m.; June 27, 1-3 p.m.; June 28, 2-4 p.m.); NBC (June 27, 3-6 p.m.; June 28, 4-7 p.m.).
Area players: Ludvig Åberg, Bud Cauley, Harris English, Brian Harman, Keith Mitchell, Andrew Novak, J.T. Poston, Aaron Rai.
LPGA
Event: KPMG Women's PGA Championship, June 25-28, Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, Minn.
Purse: $13 million ($1.95 million to the winner).
Defending champion: Minjee Lee.
Area players: Chella Choi, Auston Kim, Jessica Porvasnik.
TV: Golf Channel (June 25-26, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; 6-8 p.m.); Peacock (June 27, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.; June 28, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.); NBC (June 27, 12-3 p.m.; June 28, 1-4 p.m.).
PGA Tour Champions
Event: Dick's Open, June 26-28, En-joie Country Club, Endicott, N.Y.
Purse: $2.2 million ($396,000 to the winner).
Defending champion: Steve Allan.
Area players: David Duval, Fred Funk.
TV: Golf Channel (June 26, 9-11 a.m.; June 27, 3-6 p.m.; June 28, 4-6 p.m.).
Korn Ferry Tour
Event: Memorial Health Championship, June 25-28, Panther Creek Country Club, Springfield, Ill.
Purse: $1 million ($180,000 to the winner).
2025 champion: Austin Smotherman.
Area players: Tyson Alexander, Sebastian Cappelen, Nick Gabrelcik, Will Gordon, Luke Guthrie, Philip Knowles, Russell Knox, Ben Kohles, David Lingmerth, Doc Redman, Julian Suri, Michael Thompson, Travis Trace, Carl Yuan.
TV: None.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Brian Rolapp will add PGA Tour Commissioner title as of Jan. 1, 2027
Continue reading...
