ATLANTA – Before the final PGA Tour season tipped off at East Lake Golf Club this week, CEO Brian Rolapp offered a comprehensive de-game situation, covering everything from changes to the Tour’s playoff structure (they’re coming) to the return of 50 players (you’re not, any time soon).
Throughout the course of the 42-minute press conference, Rolapp stood as the public face of an administration that has conducted itself with contented composure for years, but is now reacting quickly to threats and challenges from within and outside the golf world. Whether these changes will benefit the Tour and its fans remains to be seen, but under Rolapp, the Tour isn’t standing still.
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“This week marks the culmination of a remarkable season on the PGA Tour,” Rolapp said. “On the course I saw extraordinary performances, breakthrough victories and compelling stories that once again demonstrate that the PGA Tour is home to the strongest competition in professional golf.”
Most notably, Rolapp announced plans for a radical reinvention of the Tour Championship. Gone, as of 2028, is the current three-round playoff structure that culminates in the final at East Lake; instead, two weeks of solid play will determine the year’s winner.
The new structure of the playoffs, which began in 2028, will take place over three weeks, with the first week establishing a field of 32 people, the second to push the field of 16, and the third to crown the champion. The event will be, in the words of the Tour, “touring, prestigious venues.”
The “claim series” will include three elements;
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• Series Finale: This will mark the final 72-hole stroke play event of the season. A field of 90 players, with the participation of the messenger, will compete to determine who continues to play in the competition. At the end of this event, the top 32 players on the overall season points list will move on to the two-week Tour Championship.
• 1st week of laughter: The first week of match play will include three round-robin group competitions, with 32 players distributed in eight groups, similar to the World Cup group stage. Each player will compete against the other three players in their group with the top two advancing to Week 2. Ties will be decided through the playoffs.
• 2 weeks of laughter: The final 16-player match play event will take place over the course of four rounds, with each player competing in all four rounds. The last two undefeated players will compete for the title of Tour Champion, with the players’ records over the four rounds determining the final standings (and, of course, the final rankings).
This marks the first time a playoff match has been used to crown a PGA Tour champion, and the first playoff event on the Tour since 2023. The PGA Tour has announced that it will announce in February the first list of host runners for 2028.
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The change in the format of the Championship Tour CEO Brian Rolapp is part of the plan to make the new plan more comprehensible for fans and players. The current points-based format allowed players to ease through the open rounds of games, or even skip the initial tournaments altogether, which allowed for direct competitive opposition to the idea of the game.
LIV players will be the favorite?
Beyond the playoff changes, Rolapp posed a variety of questions about the current state of the Tour — and, more specifically, who’s on it. In light of LIV’s financial struggles, Rolapp reiterated that there is no imminent possibility for the actor to return to the Tour from LIV. He quickly shot down the possibility of a track like that followed by Brook Koepka — Koepka gets paid well and has immediate access to certain Tour events — saying there are no plans to run a (a) Returning Member Program, as you saw earlier this year.
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A little later, Rolapp broke down Tour’s thinking in more detail, noting that three principles govern the possibility of any player’s return. “One, the PGA Tour is built on meritocracy,” he said. “Every player, whether you’re already here or trying to be here, has to earn a place in the program and go on to be successful. It’s a core principle of the game, and it’s certainly about the PGA Tour.”
“Two, the Tour is a member’s organization,” he added. “It has rules. There are rules for many reasons, fair, competitive reasons. So we can actually create as you know. Rules are a matter.
“Three, the rules only matter if they are enforced,” concluded Rolapp. “Yes, the system and discipline necessary for any organization, and certainly for the integrity of the Tour and for the game, especially in a game that prides itself on rules and honesty.”
Just last year, Brian Rolapp was named CEO of the PGA Tour after a long career in the NFL.
(Ben Jared via Getty Images)
It also added a wrinkle to players still under contract to LIV, such as Jon Rahm: “Anyone interested in coming to the PGA Tour needs to demonstrate that they are relieved of contractual obligations or any tail obligations that they might have in that (LIV) legacy model,” said Rolapp.
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The tour has previously announced that starting in 2028, the schedule will break into two sides – the Championship and the Challengers – with the best players on the tour’s top-tier “CHAMPIONSHIP” track. Rolapp indicated that virtually all of the championships will have sponsorship levels in 2028 and beyond, adding that 14 sponsors are in discussions for the remaining four tournaments.
“I don’t think we’re just interested in adding money here and there,” Rolapp said. “I think for us, it’s just, ‘let’s fight to be the best you can be,’ and then as I’ve always said, if you get it right, the money will come.”
The 2026 Tour Championship picks up this Thursday. Scottie Scheffler, Matt Fitzpatrick and Wyndham Clark lead the 30-man field at East Lake.