LIV Golf fans were on their toes soon after the narrative for the PLAYERS Championship to be the fifth major was pushed. They wanted the pros from the Saudi-based league to also get spots on the field for the event. But that must not have been on Brian Rolapp’s checklist when he initially laid out the proposal. And he clarified that during a recent press release.

As reports confirmed, “CEO Brian Rolapp on whether the PGA Tour has considered allowing LIV golfers to play in the Players Championship if that helped any quest for major championship status: ‘It’s not a priority I’ve put on my list.'”

Getting the PLAYERS Championship a major status might be a taxing task. There are already too many opinions against the proposal. Moreover, Rolapp is trying to change a huge part of history in golf. There have never been more than four majors in men’s golf. It has been more than eighty years since the PGA Tour calendar has had four majors every year. So, making the TPC Sawgrass event into a major will require a lot of rules to be rewritten.

That won’t please those who had been campaigning for the PGA Tour to allow LIV Golf pros to play. The golf community had been making a strong stance to give the PIF-funded promotion’s players fair and equal rights to play at TPC Sawgrass.

Reports suggested that the PGA Tour might also be considering it once the PLAYERS Championship receives the fifth major status. However, Rolapp’s statement might raise a shadow of doubt among those who are fighting for the LIV Golf pros.

That said, Rolapp’s statement might also suggest that the Tour has to get other things done before it gives LIV Golf pros a fair shot. Let’s look at what they are dealing with.

Brian Rolapp & Co. have a lot of work to do before allowing cross-league competition

From the lens of LIV Golf and its community, Brian Rolapp & Co. might seem to be ignoring them. But the truth might be far from it. Getting the PLAYERS Championship a major status is not as easy as it seems.

The calendar of the PGA Tour will also be affected heavily if the current schedule is maintained. The Masters Tournament is the big major that kicks off the majors season at present. The PLAYERS Championship is played just a few weeks before that. If it is turned into a major, then the PGA Tour might risk ruining its relationship with Augusta National by allowing the TPC Sawgrass event to be played in March.

Hence, the PLAYERS Championship might need to be pushed back to later in the year. Possibly, a May schedule for TPC Sawgrass seems viable with the PGA Championship also being moved. The Wanamaker Trophy was contested in August until 2018. So it won’t be a problem to move it back to the same schedule once again.