Brian Rolapp says substantial changes coming to PGA Tour depend on progress made in upcoming weeks

For the better part of five years, the PGA Tour has promised a reimagined schedule … and for the better part of five years, the calendar has looked essentially the same. Now, with that change finally within reach, CEO Brian Rolapp says whether it actually happens depends on progress in the coming weeks. The PGA Tour is expected to announce sweeping schedule changes at the Travelers Championship in three weeks, with implementation targeted for 2028. General frameworks have been pitched to players and the advisory council in recent weeks, centered on a new two-tiered system. The top circuit would feature roughly 20-plus events (majors included), fields of around 120 players, and purses of $20 million. The bottom 20-30 finishers at season's end would be relegated to the second tier; the top performers there would earn promotion back up. As Golf Digest's Tod Leonard reported earlier this week, Torrey Pines would open the 2028 season, with the calendar wrapping in late summer.

None of this arrives without resistance. Rolapp signaled consequential change at his Players Championship press conference in March, but pushback has come from multiple directions — players, sponsors, and tournaments alike. Some players see the proposal as little more than the existing PGA Tour/Korn Ferry structure with a smaller event count. Tournament officials likely slotted into the second tier are asking why they'd offer substantial prize money for what amounts to a feeder league. Media partners want clarity on what they're actually paying for under their current deals.

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Nothing has been officially decided. At Memorial on Wednesday, Rolapp briefly addressed the media, offering only that his future committee's work has been "going really well."

“I’ve been incredibly impressed with the players about how much time and thought they have put into it. And I think we have a lot of work to do before the (announcement),” Rolapp said outside Columbus. “I think we'll update you more where we are on the 22nd. But the amount of change and the questions we're asking ourselves are not easy by design. But I think we're making substantial progress.”

One of the points still being discussed is playoff format. There’s a chance the postseason is reduced to two events, with match play being implemented. Rolapp said everything is still up for discussion. “We're getting there. We have a meeting on the (June) 9th,” Rolapp said. “We're going to talk a lot about that. It was a subject of our meeting last time. So we have more work to do. I think what has been most encouraging about those discussions is we're talking about different formats, but I've been a big believer that you can come up with any format you want, if it doesn't feel authentic to the players, like it's real authentic competition, it's not going to feel authentic to anybody. And most of the ideas now about how to actually think about formats for the playoffs are coming from the players, which is great.”

Still, for that change to come, Rolapp said it’s very much coming down to the wire, specifically the time between the Memorial and Travelers. “It depends how much work we do between now and then. That's how much real time we're doing. We'll give an update exactly where we are. Depending upon what we do in the next handful of weeks will determine how substantive that is.”