Lynch: PGA Tour's new boss has fresh opportunities, but the same old problems need answers

USA Today

21-06-2025

It's probably a testament to Jay Monahan's one-on-one popularity that he managed to remain leader of the PGA Tour for two years and 10 days after announcing the controversial decision that foreshortened his commissionership, but the recent announcement of his successor finally draws to an end the Gethsemane hours of his tenure, when everyone — including Monahan and those closest to him — awaited what they knew was inevitable.
The furious player backlash to the June 6, 2023, Framework Agreement with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund wasn't grounded in moral objections to doing business with authoritarians, nor in shock at the about-face Monahan performed to get there. It was the secretive manner in which he went about it, an enormous governance misstep that led to structural reforms that sharply curtailed the executive authority of his office. That altered balance of power is just one of the many challenges awaiting Brian Rolapp, the newly-named CEO of PGA Tour Enterprises and de facto head of the entire organization.
Rolapp represents a departure from his predecessors at the top of the Ponte Vedra pyramid, beyond not having the commissioner title quite yet (Monahan will remain in that role through '26). He's an outsider, not a product of the Tour's conclave nor even of the broader golf ecosystem. He's barely a golfer at all, despite his game efforts to disguise that reality. None of those facts are inherently negative. While there was no doubt who Rolapp worked for in his last job at the NFL — team owners — the PGA Tour's constituencies are more complex. There's one that wants to be owners (fans), one that thinks they're owners (players), and one that are actually owners (Strategic Sports Group, which invested $1.5 billion). Rolapp's credentials, management style and innovative thinking have been widely praised, and he'll need them to navigate his many stakeholders, who are not always aligned.
For example, every entity with whom the PGA Tour partners — sponsors, broadcasters, tournaments — focuses on the same end user of its services: fans. But headquarters sees the end users of its services as the players, and that's who is always prioritized. Rolapp seems conscious of the need to bridge that divide.
'What has attracted me about this opportunity is that it's unique in sports in that the players own the Tour. It's their Tour. They are the shareholders. They are the owners, so I certainly work for them,' he said. 'Having said that, and we talked a little bit about this in our player meeting, I think they know what's good for fans is also good for the Tour.
"It's not that complicated. If you think what's best for the fan, it's usually best for everybody involved.'
What of the stalled PIF negotiations that came to define the Monahan era? Will that prove uncomplicated too?
Yasir Al-Rumayyan has been incommunicado since leaving the White House in a snit on February 20. Even if he (or H.E. to his supplicants) adopts a more conciliatory tone, is there any upside to Rolapp wading into the same quagmire that trapped Monahan? A new leader who inherits a failed negotiation and widespread player apathy about any deal could be more inclined to cut bait and move on. His comments on Tuesday hinted as much.
'When it comes to the situation with LIV, I think that's a complex situation that's probably something I should learn more about before I speak,' he said. 'But I will say my focus is on growing the Tour, making it better, and really moving on from the position of strength that it has.'
When pushed on the PIF negotiations, he didn't slam the door, but nor did he sound like a man eager to wait around until Al-Rumayyan's ego is sufficiently stroked. 'Again, I'm not close enough to any of those discussions, but I will say what I saw regardless of that is a very strong Tour. I see a strong product.'
It may be that the only avenues for the PGA Tour to work with PIF/LIV involve TGL, the indoor team league in which the Tour is a partner, or an international series staged in concert with the DP World Tour outside of the FedEx Cup season, from September through January. Rolapp expressed enthusiasm about golf's potential for global expansion, but he also doesn't need the Saudis for that. What he does need is buy-in from players and from SSG on spending its investment dollars.
'Where we deploy that capital, I have ideas. It's an investor group that is experienced in sports. They're smart,' he said a few days ago. 'And the player directors are bright and motivated and focused, and that was really great to see. I think what I've seen from the board have been very focused on growing the game, looking out for players, and so it was all positive.'
At some point, those stakeholder interests will begin to arc in different directions. Rolapp will never be more powerful than in his first year, and he's been bought valuable breathing space by the tailwinds Monahan leaves behind, like robust TV ratings and a healthy book of sponsor business. But he's still at the mercy of the players, who control votes on the board. Striking a balance between what players are willing to do, what fans are willing to accept, and what SSG is willing to pay for will be a time-consuming task. It's a good thing he's not worried about maintaining an index.