With the regular season of the PGA Tour coming nearly to an end and just seven more events left until the FedEx Cup playoffs begin, the conversation around next year’s schedule is emerging. A fresh wave of speculation is emerging around how the Tour might evolve in the coming years, specifically the structure and the timing of key events. And at the center of it all is Brian Rolapp, the newly appointed CEO, who was brought in with a mandate to modernize and take the PGA Tour to new heights. Rolapp now finds himself facing growing expectations to steer the tour into a more strategically aligned future, as analysts discuss overhauling the PGA Tour schedule.

With Jay Monahan’s exit, Brian Rolapp is under the radar

It all started with rumors swirling of the Rocket Classic possibly receiving new dates for next year. Every year, the tournament has struggled to attract the most prominent names in Detroit, despite its community involvement and commitment to diverse initiatives. Reason? Mainly because of its position. The tournament is played after the U.S. Open and the Travelers Championship and before the Genesis Scottish Open. All these events have bigger prize pots than the Rocket Classic, and many top players skip the event to rest for bigger events. Now, the possible dates for the next season might see the Rocket Classic being played in late July/early August.

Gary Williams, on his 5 Clubs podcast, expressed that this new change will be good for the players—”It’s a good date. It’s that date where it’s the last opportunity to play your way into the FedEx Cup playoffs. It’s now 70 getting into the FedEx Cup playoffs. So you have the likelihood of even higher-profile players who find themselves not only in peril being outside of the 70 but just maybe inside it and try to ensure a further path along…” Williams added that with such a small number of players, the Rocket Classic might be a chance to amend errors made during the season.

And as Williams went on to suggest that the last signature series event should be the last regular season event on the PGA Tour schedule, Brendan Porath agreed with him. The last signature event right now is the Travelers Championship, which concluded in June.

“Maybe Brian Rolapp’s the one to do that. But I found this whole post, let’s call it Memorial Stretch, maybe at the end of May or the beginning of June. It’s kind of always been, uh, not everyone’s sort of, uh, satisfied, not happy,” Porath added when asked what the Tour could do differently to make things better for players and even fans. It would not be without challenges, though. Porath noted that it would be a task for Rollap and his team to ensure that the season’s conclusion feels like a celebration.

Williams suggested that if the main idea is to create more fan engagement and excitement, make it as eventful as possible, even for an entire month—”Go ahead and make it a month and make it volatile and make it loud and start with the last regular season event being a season series event, a signature series event that gives you that volatility with all those points and all of the idea of elevation and relegation that would exist in an environment like that.”

The proposal to realign the calendar, making the last regular-season event a signature, points-heavy contest, would create a more dramatic build-up to the playoffs, enhancing fan engagement and competitive integrity. While only time will tell us of the changes coming, let’s take a look at the changes during Jay Monahan‘s time as Commissioner.

Schedule changes on the PGA Tour during Jay Monahan’s time

Usually, the RBC Canadian Open is held between the Memorial and the U.S. Open, giving players a chance to skip the event and rest for the major. But last year, it was hosted before the Memorial, and players had to play the signature event and the major back-to-back. Scottie Scheffler, who was in stellar form last year, finished tied for 41st at Pinehurst No. 2 and blamed a lack of rest for his disappointing performance. And this year, the RBC Canadian Open was placed back in its original schedule.

In 2023, the PGA Tour also announced a significant change in the schedule for the 2024 season, where it returned to a calendar year season after nearly a decade. Even in 2019, the golfing community went into a frenzy when the PGA Tour announced shifting the PGA Championship from August to May, which was done to improve ratings and exposure across the Tour’s schedule.

Now, it remains to be seen what kind of changes the 2026 schedule will witness.