The PGA Tour may be heading toward a massive overhaul, with a significant number of events potentially being cut from the calendar over the next few seasons. Tour CEO Brian Rolapp has already begun outlining his vision publicly, including during a major address at PGA Tour headquarters, though nothing has been formally confirmed yet about reducing the schedule from 45 events this year to around 20-25. Eamon Lynch, however, believes that Rolapp will need to start putting things into action soon.

“The Tour expects each tier will be 18-20 tournaments, not including the majors, and that there’s market support for $20 million prize funds at the top-tier events. ‘Going backwards on purses isn’t an option,’ quoted one executive,” the columnist wrote in Golfweek.

Top golfers on the tour will reportedly be advised to stick to signature events that drive the majority of viewership. Players like Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth will likely be asked to skip tier two events entirely, which could pose a dilemma for them.

Often, stars like Scheffler and Spieth play in non-tier 1 events out of loyalty to sponsors and tournaments in certain regions. The example Lynch pointed to was the Byron Nelson Championship, where both players received exemptions as teenagers to make their PGA Tour debuts. Scheffler made his debut at the Byron Nelson Championship as a 17-year-old, while Spieth debuted there as a 16-year-old in 2010. Since the tournament is also played in their home state of Texas, it holds a special place in both of their lives.

Now, however, they may be forced to leave the event out of their schedules altogether.

At the same time, there could also be a conflict in the scheduling, Lynch opines. Both tiers would run at the same time, and top players will have to choose. If the bigger names are all spread across different events in the same week, the premium product that they’re going for would suffer.

Yes, players will be given the right to choose where they want to compete. But not everyone will choose the event that has the biggest purse, because of personal ties like Spieth and Scheffler have.

The congested schedule will create a further dilemma among other stars as well. Rory McIlroy had also suggested that he would like to focus on participating in the National Opens a couple of years ago.

“It’s a pleasure to come up here and play every year, and I’m going to keep doing that until they tell me I can’t come over the border,” McIlroy told the media about the RBC Canadian Open.

So the Irishman, too, will miss out on certain events if he is forced to play according to the new PGA Tour regulations. But as Lynch said, that’s not where the PGA Tour’s troubles end. While some golfers will enjoy the shorter schedule, others might not prefer the longer breaks.

How Rolapp’s PGA Tour changes could benefit the DP World Tour players

Americans who do not participate in DP World Tour events might get more time away from the fairway with a shortened schedule. But European golfers who continue playing on will keep competing even after the PGA Tour season ends.

Judging by how Brian Rolapp is planning things, the Tour’s schedule would end at the perfect time for those players to prepare for the conclusion of the Race to Dubai. That would give the likes of McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, and others enough time to recharge before joining those fields.

However, that may not bode well for American players who choose not to play internationally.

Those who stay stateside would be stepping away from competition, but the European stars would remain sharp on the fairway. By the time the PGA Tour season begins again, those who stayed active through the DP World Tour could find it easier to get back into rhythm.

So by proposing such a schedule, is Rolapp actually helping American golfers, or is he unintentionally giving the European pros an advantage? In the long run, it could work against the PGA of America and its efforts to strengthen Team USA.