Harris English rejoined the PGA Tour’s secret room for 2026 after twelve to thirteen years. Oh, we mean the Player Advisory Council. Now, he has access to a lot of inside information and is sharing some scoops with the golf world as he prepares for his title defense at Torrey Pines.

“It is nice to be back in the room and hearing some stuff going on,” English told the media. “I have some friends on the board, and I know they are working really hard. They are looking at it from all angles of how we can make this Tour better. They look at it for the players, the fans, and the media deals. There are so many different things they are looking at.”

It’s a massive update, given that the PGA Tour recently built a special door called the “Returning Member Program” to offer a path back to LIV golfers. It allowed Brooks Koepka to rejoin the PGA Tour and also opened the door for Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, and Cameron Smith. However, the program comes with penalties worth $85 million. This program shows that the plan is to keep everyone happy while bringing back big golfers.

Harris English isn’t just hearing rumors. He is watching the PGA Tour physically rebuild its media and fan engagement strategy, largely driven by the ‘Fan Forward’ initiative (based on feedback from 50,000+ fans) and the opening of the new PGA TOUR Studios in Ponte Vedra Beach to manage all live production.

Then, in January 2026, the TOUR expanded its partnership with AWS to integrate AI into the TOURCAST app feature. To reach younger audiences and more people, the Tour now hosts events like the ‘Creator Classic,’ featuring popular YouTube golf influencers such as Bob Does Sports and Good Good.

Responding to fan feedback, the Tour announced the elimination of the ‘starting strokes’ format for the Tour Championship. Additionally, the event returns to a standard 72-hole stroke play format to determine the FedExCup champion.  While the ‘Returning Member Program’ fixed the player roster, the Tour spent the 2025 season taking care of these things. This massive transformation is the ‘all angles’ approach English alluded to

Plus, this is not the first time that Harris English has hinted at big changes before they happened. He previously suggested that the Tour is considering starting its season after the NFL Super Bowl ends, back at the RSM Classic 2025. And CEO Brian Rolapp later confirmed that the leaders are truly weighing this massive shift in the schedule.

So, now, whith several other stars like Patrick Reed, Kevin Na, Pat Perez, and Henrik Stenson also vanishing from the active roster of their LIV Teams, English’s recent hints suggest something big is clearly happening behind the scenes.

And these big moves aren’t just about who is playing, but about how many people are actually watching them.

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How the PGA Tour reclaimed the global spotlight

The 2025 season acted as a giant springboard for the Tour’s commercial success across the world. Television numbers jumped by a staggering 22 percent as fans raced back to their screens last year. Iconic moments like Rory McIlroy’s gritty Masters chase and Scottie Scheffler’s historical dominance fueled this massive growth. These superstars helped draw average weekend audiences of over 2.2 million people to the major networks.

The momentum from last year didn’t just stay there; it exploded as the 2026 season opened. The American Express tournament recorded a 125 percent increase in total viewership compared to the 2025 edition. Saturday’s third round alone drew nearly 900,000 fans, making it the highest-rated broadcast for the event since 2006. This surge happened even while the giant NFL playoffs were fighting for attention on other channels.

Now, all eyes turn toward the beautiful cliffs of Torrey Pines for the 2026 Farmers Insurance Open. The Tour expects a “perfect storm” of ratings success as several major attractions hit the course. Hometown hero Xander Schauffele returns to play this year after missing the event last season. The return of Brooks Koepka after four long years away also adds a spicy layer of drama to the weekend. People would want to see how the five-time major winner handles the pressure of the traditional Tour again.

This storyline is a dream for networks like ESPN, which is broadcasting the early rounds of the Farmers Open this year. For the first time in twenty years, ESPN will broadcast a non-major PGA Tour event live on the first two days.

It reflects massive success, and that’s why English said, “For us as players, we thank the board members and all the work they’re doing because I think they’re on the right track and they’re going to make the PGA Tour as good as it can be and as strong as it’s ever been.”