On Wednesday, March 11, Brian Rolapp shared the big plans he was having for the PGA Tour. In the annual Players Championship presser, he spoke about several things from the PGA Tour schedule to the format of relegation and promotion.

Rolapp also touched upon various other topics and said things might come into effect completely by 2028. In this article, we will look at the five important takeaways from Rolapp’s PGA Tour plan.

5 key points from Brian Rolapp’s PGA Tour press conference

1) Late January start and doubling the Signature Events

Brian Rolapp stated that the Tour was looking to fit the schedule from late January to early September.

Currently, the PGA Tour has eight Signature events with a hefty purse of $20 million but Rolapp has indicated doubling the number in the future. He also added that the number of events will be between 21 to 26.

“Today we have eight Signature Events,” he said. “We are effectively looking to at least double that number. Add the four majors, THE Players Championship, our post-season, and the Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup, and you get to the 21- to 26-event range. To be clear, we will have a second track of PGA Tour tournaments which will ladder up to those elevated events.”

This will mean the top stars will face each other more often as they can’t miss many signature events.

2. Larger fields with cuts instead of small no-cut events

Another thing that Rolapp mentioned was bringing more consistency to the playing field and moving away from smaller fields and no-cut events.

“Our best events will have larger fields,” he said. “Ideally, we are targeting something closer to 120-player fields with a cut. That consistently matters. It helps fans know who they will see and showcases who they want to see, the most competitive players.

“It helps partners know what they’re investing in, and it helps players better understand the competitive landscape in their schedules, all while embracing meritocracy,” he added.

3. Working on promotion and relegation model

Brian Rolapp also added that the PGA Tour was working on the promotion and relegation model towards the end of the year.

“I also think what the intention is is to take both of these tracks and elevate them all, right. What I don’t want people to think is that we are creating a good track and subordinating another track. That’s not the goal, and that’s not what we’re doing. We’re trying to create a cohesive competitive system that lifts the quality of our entire competition,” he added.

4) Targeting bigger US markets

The PGA Tour is looking to target bigger U.S. markets and not just the four or five big cities it currently focuses on.

“Today the PGA Tour competes in only four of the top 10 largest U.S. media markets. That is an opportunity. We are evaluating markets like New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington DC, Boston, and many others, places where there is a strong fan demand for our sport, and a chance to reach new fans,” Brian Rolapp said.

5) LIV Golf unification not a priority

Brian Rolapp also emphasized that his focus was on the PGA Tour and not the LIV Golf.

“I think I’ve been clear about this; my brief is to make the PGA Tour better,” he said. “I’m open to whatever makes the PGA Tour better. That is my brief. Better for fans, better for our members. So that’s what I’m focused on, and that’s where I put all my efforts.”

For the uninitiated, there is no clarity on the PGA Tour and LIV Golf deal despite the two announcing the merger back in 2023.