Keeping the fans engaged throughout the entire golfing season should be one of the main priorities for the PGA Tour moving forward.
The PGA Tour has been in direct competition with LIV Golf for the past three years now, and that has completely changed the golfing landscape.
In an effort to keep up with LIV’s innovative approach to the game, the PGA Tour have started numerous new initiatives in order to help with fan engagement.
The PGA Tour have introduced ‘rapid rounds’, whereby fans can watch every single shot of their favourite players’ rounds after they’ve finished.
New CEO Brian Rolapp has also spoken about the need for the PGA Tour to evolve on into the 21st century.
And if Rolapp is true to his word, he will have one item right at the top of his agenda that needs addressing before the 2026 season.
The PGA Tour could have a big problem forming for next year
The 2025 season has been spectacular for golf. Rory McIlroy completed the Grand Slam with his thrilling win at The Masters back in April.
Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler has once again raised the standards, with four wins in three months, including two major championships.
And there is plenty more exciting golf still to come, with the three FedEx Cup play-off events and the Ryder Cup all taking place before the end of September.
However, when the Ryder Cup is finished, there is little to get excited about for golf fans, other than a few big DP World Tour events and the fall season on the PGA Tour when the fields are notoriously weaker than usual.
In 2026, it will be even worse for golf fans, with no Ryder Cup scheduled of course. There will be the Presidents Cup to focus on next year, but aside from that, the schedule between August and January looks incredibly bare.
When the FedEx Cup play-offs have been completed in 2026, it will very much be a case of ‘after the Lord Mayor’s show’.
A big rethink is required by Rolapp and his team.
How the PGA Tour could improve the schedule in 2026
Firstly, the Signature Events need to be spaced out more.
It just doesn’t seem right that the final elevated event of the season comes in June, before the summer has even got underway!
One or two Signature Events for August would be perfect, with the play-offs perhaps taking place in early September even better, after the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup in October.
The current schedule is far too heavily weighted towards January through to June right now, and more balance is required.
And then, the PGA Tour could perhaps scrap two of the fall events, before ending the season properly in the first week of November, and having a proper two-month break before starting up again in January.
That way, the players, the media and even the fans would return to the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January feeling refreshed, and with a new sense of vigour and excitement.
Another thing that needs to change is for the PGA Championship to return to August, rather than May. The fact that major season is over by the end of July is just plain wrong.
How things currently work doesn’t make much sense to me. Hopefully Rolapp agrees, and makes some big changes to the PGA Tour schedule in 2026.
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