With PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan stepping down, what is his legacy?

USA Today

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With PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan stepping down, what is his legacy? Hiring of Brian Rolapp, the NFL's Chief Media and Business Officer, announced on June 17
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New PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp talks LIV Golf
Brian Rolapp discussed LIV Golf is his opening press conference
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan will step down at the end of 2026.
Former NFL executive Brian Rolapp has been named the PGA Tour's new CEO, starting June 17.
Monahan will transition his responsibilities to Rolapp and remain on the PGA Tour Policy Board.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan will leave his position by the end of 2026 with the hiring of former NFL executive Brian Rolapp in a new position as the Tour's chief executive officer on June 17.
Monahan, who became the Tour's fourth commissioner in 2017, will "transition his day-to-day responsibilities" to Rolapp, according to a PGA Tour news release, and will concentrate on his role as a member of the PGA Tour Policy Board and on the board of PGA Tour Enterprises, the for-profit arm of the Tour.
Monahan said he informed the Policy Board last year that he would step down as commissioner after he completed 10 years on the job.
Who is Brian Rolapp? 5 things to know about the PGA Tour's new CEO
'A year ago, I informed our Boards that upon completing a decade as commissioner, I would step down from my role at the end of 2026,' Monahan said in a statement. 'Since then, we've worked together to identify a leader who can build on our momentum and develop a process that ensures a smooth transition. We've found exactly the right leader in Brian Rolapp, and I'm excited to support him as he transitions from the NFL into his new role leading the PGA Tour.'
Brian Rolapp: 'Excited about future of golf'
Rolapp, 53, was the unanimous choice by a search committee that included Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur M. Blank, Tiger Woods, Adam Scott and Monahan.
He said in a news conference at the TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn., on June 17, the site of this week's Travelers, that he plans on having conversations with as many players as he can.
"I'm excited to grow the PGA Tour ... I'm excited about the future of golf," he said. "I'm going to talk with as many [players] as I can in a short amount of time ... I'm going to hear what they have to say."
The PGA Tour management team will report to Rolapp upon his start date, and he will report to both boards of directors.
"I've had the privilege of working at the NFL for 20 years, which I've loved," Rolapp said. "This opportunity stood out. It stood out because I think the game of golf is a global game. It is a game that has a tremendous amount of growth. I think the level of competition and tradition is unparalleled in a lot of ways."
Jay Monahan guided Tour through COVID, LIV Golf breakaway
Monahan first came to the Tour in 2008 as the executive director of The Players Championship. He was promoted to Tour's senior vice president for business development in 2010, to executive vice president and chief marketing officer in 2013, and then to deputy commissioner in 2015.
Three years after he was in office, sports in America came to a standstill with the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020. The Players Championship was canceled after only one round but Monahan and his management team formulated a plan to return. The PGA Tour was the first major sport to resume competition in June 2020.
Two years later, Monahan was faced with another crisis, the creation of LIV Golf and the defection of some of the Tour's biggest stars at the time. Monahan immediately suspended every player who became a member of LIV Golf, and those players remain under suspension.
In June of 2023, Monahan stepped away from his duties for an undisclosed "medical situation," as the Tour described it, but returned later that summer.
Since then he has created the lucrative PGA Tour "Signature Event" series, with higher purses, FedEx Cup Fall, a series of event events designed for players who did not make the FedEx Cup playoffs to regain their playing status and formed an alliance with the Strategic Sports Group, a collection of pro team sports owners who will invest up to $3 million in PGA Tour Enterprises.
What does Brian Rolapp's hiring mean for the Tour vs. LIV battle?
There was no indication whether Rolapp's hiring would be a prelude to fast-tracking a merger or other alliance with the LIV Golf Tour, which formed in 2022 in competition with the PGA Tour and lured stars such as Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith.
Monahan and Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who has bankrolled LIV Golf, announced a framework agreement on June 6, 2023. Still, little progress has been made toward an actual resolution to the split in professional golf.
Monahan has had three meetings with President Donald Trump, who said during his campaign last year that he could help broker a deal between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
Rolapp said during his news conference that he is coming in "with a pretty clean sheet of paper," about the Tour vs. LIV issue.
"I also come in knowing that there's a lot to learn," he said. "Everything that works in the football world may not work in the golf world. When it comes to that situation particularly, I think the fans have been pretty clear. They want to see the best golfers compete against each other. I agree with that. I think that's a complex situation that's probably something I should learn more about before I speak."
Who is Brian Rolapp?
Rolapp, a native of Maryland who worked a part-time job at the Congressional Country Club in high school, is a graduate of Brigham Young University and Harvard Business School. He joined the NFL in 2003 and became the COO of NFL Media and later CEO of NFL Network.
He forged partnerships with brands such as Apple, X, Nike and Fanatics. He was named to the Sports Business Journal's Forty Under 40 Hall of Fame.
As the NFL's Chief Media and Business Officer, Rolapp oversaw the league's commercial businesses, including broadcast and digital rights, NFL Network, NFL Films, sponsorships, consumer products and the league's private investment entity, 32 Equity.
He and his wife Cindy have four children.