The PGA Tour’s new CEO, Brian Rolapp, promised “significant change” during his introductory press conference. Rolapp, who spent years at the NFL as commissioner Roger Goodell’s right-hand man, wants to build his PGA Tour around equality, scarcity and simplicity – just like the NFL.
Of course, Rolapp’s promise of change had everyone wondering exactly what he plans for the PGA Tour to look like once those changes are implemented. During last week’s RSM Classic, Ryder Cupper Harris English gave some clues as to what Rolapp plans to tweak when he gets under the hood.
“We have some smart guys at the helm. With Brian Rolapp coming in, he sees the PGA Tour in a different light,” English said.
“Sometimes change is good. I understand they want the best players to play together more often, and the talk about the Tour possibly starting after the Super Bowl I think is a good thing because we can’t really compete with football. So we’ll see where it goes.”
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English isn’t the first player to rightly point out that golf can’t “compete” with the NFL. In 2005, Tiger Woods said he believed the PGA Tour season should end around Labor Day before football starts. The PGA Tour has adjusted the FedEx Cup Playoffs schedule to avoid the NFL in 2019. In 2014 at the BMW Championship, Rory McIlroy praised the NFL for its scarcity, leaving fans wanting more.
That all fits in with the three pillars of Rolapp. English noted that a change to a 20- or 22-event schedule may not happen until 2027.
During an interview with CNBC’s CEO ForumRolapp did not shy away from English’s revelation that the PGA Tour is considering shortening and possibly adjusting its schedule to avoid his former employer.
“Nothing has been decided yet and Harris’ comments have received a lot of attention, but Harris’ comments really reflect a lot of conversations that are happening.“ said Rolapp. “If you dig into what he said, it’s really not that complicated. If you’re going to compete with football in this country for media dollars and attention, that’s a very difficult thing to do. Most of golf is played in the summer and gets people’s attention, so looking at schedules to help optimize that calendar is certainly something we’re talking about.”
When Rolapp first started as CEO of the PGA Tour, he created a Future Competition Committee, chaired by Tiger Woods, to help look at all the ways the PGA Tour can improve its product, with a focus on creating a product that connects the regular season and postseason that fans can more easily understand rather than just coordinating a bunch of disconnected events.
“These are the kinds of debates we have,” Rolapp said of the Future Competition Committee. “What does the schedule look like? How do you create bigger events? How do you actually stream them together into a season that you can understand? Part of the problem with professional golf is that it has evolved into a series of events that just happen to be on television, as opposed to actually taking those events, making them meaningful in their own right, but putting them together in a competitive model, including with a postseason that you would all understand, whether you’re a golf fan or a sports fan.
“So those are the questions we’re asking: how can we make bigger and better events, how can we put them on the calendar that fans can watch more and how can we put them in a competitive model that not only golf fans, but sports fans will embrace. Those are all the things we discuss. Nothing has been decided yet, but that is the task of the committee.“
When asked if starting the season after the Super Bowl was on the table, Rolapp said he “could see it happening.”
As Rolapp tries to make the PGA Tour competitive in the battle for attention, it’s clear that everything is on the table and big changes are coming. The only question is when they will officially arrive.
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