Brian Rolapp says the PGA Tour’s 2028 model is gaining traction, with a two-track system, tougher stakes and a renewed focus on merit.
The PGA Tour competitive model could look dramatically different by 2028, and CEO Brian Rolapp isn’t pretending the overhaul will be simple.
Speaking Wednesday at Muirfield Village Golf Club, Rolapp said the Tour and its Future Competition Committee have made “substantial progress” toward a reworked structure that could reshape how players earn status, keep status and move through the professional golf ecosystem.
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“I feel good where we are, but I also had expectations that it wasn't going to be easy,” Rolapp said.
“Any good process – in the sort of experience of my old job, any substantial change we've made always came with a lot of work and a lot of tension to the process. If you don't have a good process and there's not tension, it means you're not asking the right questions. I think we've reached that, which I think is a very good thing, but I feel good about what we are.”
The biggest piece remains a two-track PGA Tour system. Track 1 would feature the sport’s elite, putting the best players together more often.
Track 2 would remain meaningful, not as a consolation bracket, but as a real path upward. Rolapp said the movement between tracks must be “substantial enough to matter.”
That’s the key. The Tour has taken heat for smaller fields and no-cut events, creating a perception that too many stars are protected from consequence.
Rolapp seems ready to attack that head-on.
“I think we have lost a lot of that with the smaller fields, no-cut events. The competitive meritocracy that makes this sport great and unique – we’ve gotten away from, and we’re getting back to (it),” Rolapp said.
A new postseason could also be coming. Match play has been discussed, though Rolapp made it clear players have to believe in the format.
“I've been a big believer that you can come up with any format you want, (but) if it doesn't feel authentic to the players, like it's real, authentic competition, it's not going to feel authentic to anybody,” Rolapp said.
There’s big money attached, too. The Tour’s current media deals run through 2030, and the $1.5 billion Strategic Sports Group investment remains a major lever.
“Everyone asks that question. It's burning a hole in my pocket,” Rolapp said. “I’ve got lots of ideas, but I think what you'll see is when we get the competitive model right, there will be a lot of uses for that capital.”
The next committee meeting is June 9, with a board meeting set for June 22. For Rolapp, the mission is bigger than one season or one superstar.
“We're building something that's bigger than any individual player,” Rolapp said. “We're building a competitive system in a sport that outlives me, outlives anybody.”
