There is plenty of intrigue surrounding how the 2027 PGA Tour schedule is going to look, with the calendar likely to provide plenty of clues as to the direction Brian Rolapp wants to go in.
Brian Rolapp‘s appointment as the PGA Tour CEO seemed to come too late to have a significant impact on the 2026 season. However, he wasted little time in launching the Future Competition Committee, with Tiger Woods named as the chairman.
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It does appear that drastic changes are in the offing for 2027. There were suggestions from Harris English that the PGA Tour schedule could include just 20 events.
Much of the talk in the early stages of this season surrounded the future of the events in Hawaii, with question marks over both The Sentry and the Sony Open in Hawaii.
It certainly appears that the 2027 season is unlikely to kick off in the Aloha State at the very least.
The event being earmarked to start the 2027 PGA Tour season
Speaking on The Smylie Show following the WM Phoenix Open this past week, Smylie Kaufman suggested that he has heard plenty of discussions about the idea of TPC Scottsdale acting as the curtain raiser.
“Before we transition out of this Phoenix Open, the last thing that I want to bring up to you is just having some conversations with folks around the WM Phoenix Open and the future of that event, and what the future schedule looks like for the PGA Tour. All the conversations the PGA Tour are having about 2027 and the scheduling, and where is the WM Phoenix Open going to slate in, is it going to be similar to where it has been? You go Sony, AmEx, Phoenix Open? From what I’ve gathered, the PGA Tour wants to start out with their big opening day, and Phoenix Open is currently slated to be number one,” he said.
“That is where they want to start. They want to start with a bang, and I think right now, they’re trying to figure out the scheduling, if it’s going to be Super Bowl weekend. I think I’ve heard suggestions of, ‘hey, would you be okay doing it after the Super Bowl?’ Not even mess with football. The Phoenix Open has no interest in that. But what I find interesting is that seems fine, having it during the Super Bowl weekend, that’s where they want it, and I can understand why Phoenix wants it there.”
The problem Brian Rolapp is facing as he prepares to overhaul the PGA Tour schedule
As things stand, the PGA Tour can afford to gradually build into the season. The Sentry at Kapalua offers some of the best vistas of anywhere on the calendar. It is also an iconic event in many respects.
However, the atmosphere is vastly different to the WM Phoenix Open. In fairness, few events are like the WM Phoenix Open.
That may be why it is the perfect way to kick off the season. But Kaufman believes that Rolapp may have a problem if he hopes to replicate the tournament at several spots across the country.
“It’s so different. The NFL has all these different franchises and teams, this is where you run into the issues of Rolapp running the PGA Tour like the NFL, where things are different. Rolapp’s probably walked around and thought we need to replicate it everywhere,” he said.
“‘Let’s do these big events, big cities, having all these great crowds and huge buildouts’. But you’re so reliant on these tournaments and the tournament directors and these big organisations to be able to do these things. That’s the difference with the NFL, they had the stadiums, they have the owners to be able to provide all these things week-in and week-out with a site that’s not going anywhere.”
It does appear that big changes are just around the corner on the PGA Tour. Inevitably, there is likely to be plenty of pushback whatever the future schedule looks like.
But starting the season at the WM Phoenix Open would show that Rolapp is ready to drag the PGA Tour kicking and screaming into a new era.
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