The PGA Tour has a big issue that needs to be addressed immediately after the latest decisions of Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa.
Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa are two of the biggest stars on the PGA Tour and as a result, how they choose to compile their schedules has a huge impact on fan engagement in certain events.
Scheffler didn’t commit to play in the Truist Championship in the first place, while Morikawa has just withdrawn from the event.
And the decisions of those two players have proven that the PGA Tour’s current Signature Event model simply doesn’t work.
PGA Tour players are, of course, independent contractors, so they cannot be forced to play in every single Signature Event throughout the season.
However, Brian Rolapp can certainly make some changes that will improve the likelihood of the best players and the biggest names competing against each other more regularly.
Collin Morikawa and Scottie Scheffler highlight the PGA Tour’s glaring issue
The whole point of the Signature Event model is to ensure that the best players in the world play against each other more regularly, and that simply isn’t happening.
The Truist Championship this week will be the third straight Signature Event where one of either Rory McIlroy or Scottie Scheffler will not be in the field.
It has to be said that Brian Rolapp needs to address that issue moving forward.
In my opinion, the best way to do that is to space out the Signature Events more throughout the season.
Perhaps an idea would be to have no Signature Events immediately following majors as well.
On the 2026 schedule, there are two such instances of that being the case, with the RBC Heritage following The Masters and the Travelers Championship following the US Open.
The PGA Tour’s Signature Event model has to change
Given the sheer effort that players put into majors, both physically and mentally, the last thing any of them want is to play in another huge event the week after.
There will undoubtedly be changes to the way in which the PGA Tour operates moving forward.
Rolapp has shared how he wants to make six key changes to the operating model, including bringing back full-field events with cuts throughout the entire season and having more Signature Events in general.
Spacing those events out throughout the season will be crucial, but incredibly challenging, no doubt, with Rolapp intent on condensing the PGA Tour schedule moving forward
However, Rolapp has been brought in to take the PGA Tour to another level, and these are the dilemmas that he will have to solve if his tenure is to be remembered as a successful one.
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