Change is coming to the PGA Tour, and it’s coming quickly.
That was the clear message PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp delivered Tuesday to players at the Hero World Challenge during a 90-minute meeting in the Bahamas. Rolapp outlined the general concepts behind the Tour’s move toward a new model, with Tiger Woods—chair of the Future Competition Committee—joining the conversation and fielding questions from players.
According to one player who attended the meeting, which included nearly everyone in the 20-man field, the discussion centered on a reduced schedule of approximately 20 to 25 events. These tournaments would be played in the best markets, on the best courses, with the strongest fields at the optimal time of year.
The player also revealed that the Tour is looking to create a clearly defined promotion and relegation system similar to what exists in UK soccer, rather than the vague “PGA Tour A” and “PGA Tour B” framework currently in place.
Earlier Tuesday, the Future Competition Committee was tasked to “create the best schedule and product, [and] to deliver all that in ’27 is something we’re trying to do.”
The committee is working with three “governing principles”: parity, scarcity and simplicity. Of these, scarcity—essentially reducing the Tour schedule—seems to be causing the most concern among players.
Woods addressed these fears head-on. “The scarcity thing is something that I know scares a lot of people, but I think that if you have scarcity at a certain level, it will be better because it will drive more eyes because there will be less time,” he said Tuesday. “But don’t forget the golfing year is long. So there’s other opportunities and other places around the world or other places to play that can be created and have events. So there’s a scarcity side of it that’s not as scary as people might think.”
What makes this potential restructuring significant is how it could fundamentally alter the way professional golf operates in North America, potentially creating a more concentrated, high-stakes environment for top players while establishing clearer pathways for rising talent.
