Why the new PGA Tour schedule has just solved a big problem with LIV Golf players re-joining

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Brian Rolapp has unveiled his plans for the new PGA Tour schedule, and there are some massive changes on the way.

The Tour Championship will be match play at an iconic golf course. The season will be reduced to just over 20 events. There will be international events in the fall, and the main season will begin after the Super Bowl.

But perhaps the biggest change of them all is that the PGA Tour is set to be split into two tracks. The first track, named the PGA Tour Championship, will have the best players, purses, and golf courses.

Meanwhile, the second track, the PGA Tour Challenges, will see players competing to earn promotion to the first track. Rolapp said this would be possible if a player wins two events on that tour in a season or ranks high enough in the standings at the end of the year.

Not only is this an incredibly exciting model inspired by European football, it also solves one of Rolapp’s biggest headaches with LIV Golf.

The new PGA Tour schedule provides answer for returning LIV Golf players

Now that LIV Golf has lost its Saudi funding and is scrambling for future investors, the likelihood that players will be seeking a return to the PGA Tour has increased significantly. That presents a problem for the PGA Tour.

If LIV players return, then other PGA Tour players will be pushed out of major events. That’s bound to cause some frustration among the players, who remained loyal to the tour when LIV was handing out eye-watering sums of money.

This two-track system provides the perfect answer. If a player wants to return to the PGA Tour, Rolapp can put them on the second track. If they want to get back to playing the best golf courses against the best players, then they’ll have to earn their way back.

This way, all the players on the first track are there on merit, and only the LIV players who play well will join them. That means the biggest stars will be back at the top in a fair way.

This new schedule is set to be implemented in 2028, which is perfect timing. All LIV players are suspended from the PGA Tour for one year following the last LIV event they played, so if they leave at the end of this season, they’ll be eligible to return by the time the new schedule comes in.

It’s almost like Rolapp designed this schedule with this issue in mind!