Should tour be getting its major cut?
PGA Tour's new CEO could seek more of a return on tour talent that fills major fields
Brian Rolapp (center) has much to consider in his Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., HQ (Tracy Wilcox/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
Much to its chagrin, the PGA Tour does not own any of the four major championships. Although the four biggest events of the year are played with PGA Tour players comprising the majority of the fields, the tour does not benefit monetarily.
As most have learned in recent years as LIV Golf emerged and disputes were aired about players and their own ability to play conflicting events, the PGA Tour controls a player’s media rights. In essence, it requires permission to play outside of the PGA Tour. And it charges fees to other entities that want to air broadcasts of its players.
But the major championships — whose events count officially on the PGA Tour — do not pay the tour anything for using its talent. Obviously, there is benefit for its members to compete in majors, but could the tour look into the possibility of earning more value there?
Last week, Brian Rolapp was announced as the PGA Tour’s first chief executive officer. The new CEO comes to the tour after more than 20 years with the NFL, where he was instrumental in many of the juggernaut league’s TV rights. Could he look at the PGA Tour’s deals and wonder about the arrangement it has with the major championships?
Joe Ogilvie — a former player, member of the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Enterprises boards and a player liaison — suggested as much in an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Bob Harig.
“I do think a person who is coming outside of the game of golf to a certain extent has some advantages,” Ogilvie told SI. “He can take a fresh look and say, ‘Okay, how is this league set up? What are the strengths? What are the weaknesses? Let me get this straight — our players are the talent and they are playing other events that we don’t own and that aren’t in our TV packages?’ They benefit from exposure but it’s not traditional. That’s kind of weird.”
That has long been a dilemma for the PGA Tour because the majors are owned and operated independently by Augusta National Golf Club (Masters), PGA of America (PGA Championship), United States Golf Association (U.S. Open) and the R&A (Open Championship). Of course, all of them offer PGA Tour members substantial perks, including numerous entry points into their tournament fields. But the players are the stars and the majors would not the same without the talent from the top tour in the world.
It makes for an interesting scenario that Ogilvie dropped.
“Just because that is tradition is there really a business case for that?” Ogilvie said. “(Rolapp) might look at that and say, ‘Why is this? If this is the case you have to make the case why this should go on like this.’ [As Rolapp] said, you want to honor the traditions of the game but not be bound by them.”
The PGA Tour has gone outside of the golf world to pick its leader for the first time since its inception in 1968. Commissioner Jay Monahan is just the fourth in tour history, and like his predecessor Tim Finchem, he served at the PGA Tour for several years before ascending to the top job.
Monahan was involved in the vetting process that hired Rolapp and is said to be transitioning out of the role and leaving the PGA Tour when his contract expires at the end of 2026.
Whether he is replaced as commissioner is still to be determined. Ogilvie, who played on the PGA Tour for 14 years before retiring to go into money managing in 2014, has long been discussed as a possible commissioner. If there is one, that job would likely entail competitive aspects of the tour. Rolapp is clearly the boss.
“The NFL is a big enterprise and has a great standard of excellence,” Ogilvie said. “He’s learned what the best league in the world has done. He has experience through his 20 years. That is an amazing thing alone for the PGA Tour to kind of lean on.”