Brian Rolapp Is Quietly Cleaning Up Jay Monahan’s Mess One Step at a Time

On June 17, 2025, the PGA Tour broke the internet. It confirmed the hiring of former NFL Network CEO Brian Rolapp. The man had taken the NFL to the next level, striking deals worth over $100 billion. He integrated technological advancements and broadcast strategies to enhance the overall fan experience. He completely changed how football was watched in the United States. But golf is a different territory for the Harvard Business School graduate.

Unlike football, golf is not every sports fan’s cup of tea. Before Rolapp could start utilizing his expert strategies, he had the mammoth task of understanding the game and building a network. He may have had some help along the way from his peers on the PGA Tour. In fact, Brian may have also reached out to a fellow Harvard Business School alumnus from across the oceans, Scott O’Neil. And over the last couple of months, he has been networking and working hard with a team to build a roadmap.

Correcting Jay Monahan’s mistakes was Brian Rolapp’s priority

His first mission was to undo all the mess Jay Monahan had created over the years. Monahan had implemented many changes that were largely criticized by the fans and experts alike. More recently, Jay has been in the limelight for how he has been dealing with the pace of play dilemma. The PGA Tour has been plagued with slow play for some years now. And in 2025, it only escalated.

Fans were left frustrated during the 2025 WM Phoenix Open as slow play from the entire field led to the round getting suspended. By the time the field was finishing the 18 holes, it was already too dark to continue playing. Brian Harman was also caught in the crossfire for his delayed buildup to swings. Usual suspects like Patrick Cantlay have also infuriated the fans a few times over the year due to their disregard for maintaining the pace.

Another issue Monahan has been criticized for is his management of the PIF merger. The conversation with the Governor of PIF, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, has been dragging along for over a year now. At first, fans assumed that Greg Norman’s involvement and his dynamic with the PGA Tour led to complications. Fans hoped that things would pick up pace when the Australian legend left his position at LIV Golf.

Monahan did show more intent to complete the deal after Norman’s departure. He approached President Donald Trump to push the negotiations. The PGA Tour commissioner also involved Tiger Woods in the conversation, but it didn’t really changed anything, as Al-Rumayyan was instead left offended at the preposterous proposals they had in mind for LIV Golf.

Considering everything, Brian Rolapp now had to develop a strategy to tackle the complex problems on the PGA Tour. And as soon as he got a grasp of everything, he had the perfect response on how to manage it all.

The new CEO formulates a plan

Rolapp clearly had a lot to sort out before he could even think of how to improve the PGA Tour. After taking a few weeks to settle in, the new CEO has already cleared the air over a few critical subjects. He addressed the ongoing conversation with PIF and the possible merger with LIV Golf. On that note, Rolapp had three critical points to lay out that might be a cause for concern for Scott O’Neil & Co.:

1. The PIF-PGA Tour merger is not a priority for him and his team at the moment.
2. Build a stronger bond with the DP World Tour after LIV Golf refused to cooperate with it.
3. Focus on strengthening the PGA Tour and promoting the best golfers in the world.

With this simple action plan, Brian Rolapp made it clear that he will not let LIV Golf twist his arm. His priority is taking the PGA Tour to the next level. Any collaboration with PIF is only an added benefit. Rolapp has also declared his commitment to serving the fans. As Eamon Lynch wrote in an article published on Yahoo! Sports, “The PGA Tour is initiating a process in which finally putting fans first is actually a legally necessary strategy.”

Lynch explained that Brian is also trying to make the PGA Tour a less exclusive club for the players. Fewer exemptions, tougher qualification criteria, and smaller fields will increase the level of competition and make events more exciting. It will also be easier to filter out underperforming golfers, even if they have won many titles in the past. Rolapp has also confirmed that a new format for the TOUR Championship is under work. Neither of these strategies has a definite blueprint yet, but it’s still a lot more than what Jay Monahan had in the pipeline.

One of the biggest initiatives announced by Brian Rolapp during a recent press conference was the launch of the Future Competition Committee. The committee was formed to redesign the competitive model of the PGA Tour focusing on boosting the value of the product for the fans, players, and investors. The Future Competition Committee will be a nine-person panel led by Tiger Woods. Woods will be the chairman of the committee and will be in close contact with Rolapp regularly.

While he only became the CEO of the PGA Tour a couple of months ago, Brian Rolapp has already taken significant steps in the right direction. This has left a very positive impact on many.

Brian Rolapp’s work gets recognized

Whether it’s the strongest LIV Golf supporters or the harshest PGA Tour critics, everyone has been in favor of everything Brian Rolapp has done. Even LIV Golf fan and pro golf critic couldn’t help but acknowledge the new PGA Tour CEO:“I listened to new @PGATOUR CEO @brianrolapp for 35 minutes this AM. And (you’re not going to believe this) I enjoyed virtually everything he said! I found him refreshing, honest & transparent.”

For anyone who knows Pro Golf Critic, he is not someone who often says anything positive about the PGA Tour or its associates. So for him to find the new CEO refreshing is quite intriguing. His tweet also said, “Insightful, focused & open to new ideas. While the previous regime I found as isolationist & standoffish, I don’t get that sense here. I think he’ll be a connector more than anything. He has the right advisors and supporters to get stuff done.”

It’s no secret that he was a huge critic of Jay Monahan and his methods. But so far, he thinks that Brian Rolapp’s ideology is progressive and adaptive. That should help golf grow. Looks like the infamous LIV Golf fan is completely on board the Rolapp train. And he’s not the only one who spoke so positively about the new CEO. The social media team of the Monday Q Info was also impressed by everything Brian had planned.

They wrote, “Really good first impression. That is how a press conference is done. Let’s hope this is how it will be going forward.” They were quite critical of Jay Monahan when the outgoing commissioner announced that the PGA Tour would stop Monday Qualifiers from 2026. Hearing Rolapp’s progressive strategies about making the PGA Tour more competitive would have put them at ease.

Golf Magazine writer Dylan Dethier also wrote, “Impressive debut from Brian Rolapp. comfortable, direct, and ready to make some changes. Curious what others thought!  But from my seat—good start.” Dethier is known for exploring the complex golf dynamics and delivering compelling stories using his expertise and insider knowledge. His opinion certainly holds a lot of weight in the golf community, and for him to be impressed by the new PGA Tour CEO speaks very highly of Rolapp.

One of the biggest revelations that everyone noticed in Brian Rolapp’s statements is that he is not afraid to take risks. That is exactly what Joel Beall pointed out as he tweeted, “The undertone of new PGA Tour CEO Rolapp’s address was unmistakable: he’s not afraid to burn it all down and start over.” His statement about the PIF-PGA Tour negotiations reflects that, as he doesn’t mind wiping the slate clean and starting a fresh conversation from his perspective.

It’s been nearly three months since Brian Rolapp became the CEO of the PGA Tour. He has already managed to start building something that will have a long-term positive effect on its growth and development. While fans might not see immediate changes, the new CEO has promised to deliver a better and more engaging product in the near future. All that everyone can do now is wait and watch as he tries to take the PGA Tour to the same level as the NFL.