Reports: PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp, Tiger Woods pitch “significant” schedule changes to Hero field

Audio By Carbonatix

Enlarge

After the PGA Tour’s Future Competitions Committee met on Tuesday, PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp and committee chair Tiger Woods met with the 20 players competing in this week’s Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, according to multiple media reports.

In what was reportedly a 90-minute presentation to the 20-man field, Rolapp and Woods laid out the vision for what is being termed as significant change to the PGA Tour schedule that could be installed as soon as 2027.

The three governing principles guiding the Future Competitions Committee’s work — at Rolapp’s suggestion — have been parity, scarcity and simplicity.

Per reports, the pitch brought to the players in the meeting included a reduced schedule of 20-25 events focused on the biggest markets and the best courses. An English Premier League-esque relegation system for PGA Tour competition also was presented, per reports.

Harris English, the world’s 11th-ranked player, spoke recently at a tournament about how there are discussions about starting the season in February — instead of January — to avoid competing with the NFL for viewership.

“We’re trying to figure out what is the best schedule possible so we can create the best fields and have the most viewership and also the most fan involvement and what does that look like,” Woods said Tuesday.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler admitted in an interview this week that he isn’t sure what is best for the PGA Tour’s future scheduling. However, he made it clear that he plans on staying around no matter the format.

“At the end of the day, I’m going to play where the best players are playing,” Scheffler said. “I love competition, I love playing against the best players, so wherever those guys are playing, that’s probably where you’re going to see me.”

–Field Level Media