Tiger Woods Puts Golfers on Notice Shortly After Taking Control of New PGA Tour Committee, Report

Less than a month in, PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp set the tone at East Lake—underperforming pros and sponsor exemptions will be phased out, with radical change deemed unavoidable. He’s also tapped Tiger Woods to chair a root-and-branch review of the Tour’s entire business model.

In his first major public address, Brian Rolapp made it clear that the PGA Tour is heading for a fundamental overhaul. He emphasized that the current model, shaped by decades of compromise and designed to serve member interests above all else, is no longer sustainable. Out of the three pillars Rolapp focused on, one message reverberated across locker rooms — scarcity. It means that players who have been riding on the comfortable cushions of sponsor exemptions throughout the season will no longer be exempt.

This means that journeymen pros will not be able to ride the wave of an average performance and make a lucrative living. So players like Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler, who received a dozen sponsor exemptions this year, will need to be on their toes, as the safety net will now be removed. Another important message based on the pillar of scarcity was having fewer tournaments and a lighter schedule. A few weeks ago, the 2026 schedule was announced, and it appeared more saturated than scarce, with 38 events in the regular season. An additional signature event was even added, bringing the total to nine signature events with lucrative prize money.

Under Rolapp’s vision, that kind of calendar will be streamlined to prioritize quality over quantity, boosting fan engagement and elevating the stature of each event. “I don’t think we have a particular number in mind. I think the focus will be, as I mentioned, to create events that really matter, and how we do that, what that number is, we’ll determine, but that’s certainly the goal,” Rolapp stated. Brian Rolapp even emphasised fewer financial diversions, a clear signal that long-standing subsidies, such as those supporting the PGA Tour Champions, may be on the chopping block.

In his view, every dollar should directly support the main Tour’s competitiveness and global relevance. This shift in philosophy could have significant implications for any program that doesn’t align with the streamlined, performance-driven model Rolapp envisions. In short, if it doesn’t enhance the main product, it’s no longer needed.

Brian Rolapp’s three-pillared vision — competitive parity, simplicity, and scarcity— is already reshaping the tour’s direction. While the tour has achieved competitive parity thanks to the depth of talent, the other two pillars have been sorely lacking. While scarcity has been sabotaged by an overstuffed calendar, the tour’s season structure is also notoriously complex. And to confront all these issues, Rolapp has formed the Future Competition Committee. It is a nine-member panel tasked with reimagining the Tour from the ground up, which will be chaired by Tiger Woods.

Tiger Woods to take charge

On the eve of the season-ending Tour Championship, Brian Rolapp unveiled the Future Competition Committee, a powerful new panel tasked with rebuilding the Tour’s competitive structure. The mission is to conduct a holistic review of the entire competitive model, including the regular season, postseason, and offseason, and recommend bold structural reforms. Tiger Woods was announced as the chair of the committee and will be joined by five other players, including Patrick Cantlay, alongside three influential business leaders. Their mandate is broad and ambitious, as Rolapp was explicit. This isn’t just about making minor adjustments; it’s about implementing substantial structural changes.

But while the formation of the committee signals vision and leadership at the top, it also comes with internal disruption. Brian Rolapp’s announcement included a voluntary retirement program for 5–10% of the Tour’s 1,300 employees — a move modeled after a similar NFL initiative. That has raised concerns inside Tour headquarters, where many now fear that structural reform won’t just affect players, but also those behind the scenes.