TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP

June 23, 2026

Brian Rolapp

Jay Monahan

Joe Gorder

Tiger Woods

TPC River Highlands

Press Conference

TIGER WOODS: Good morning. Over the past eight months, the Future Competition Committee has spent a lot of time on a very important and fundamental question: How do we build the strongest possible version of the PGA TOUR?

This work was never about any one player or person. It was about bringing together different perspectives, having honest, hard conversations, and thinking boldly about what is best for the game that we all love.

It has been a privilege to work with all the committee members and especially my fellow player directors. I'm proud of the work we've done and am grateful to everyone who's contributed along the way.

We have to look forward and beyond today and over the horizon to set up the PGA TOUR and our sport for the future generations of players and fans.

With that, I would like to introduce the CEO of the PGA TOUR, Brian Rolapp.

[Applause.]

BRIAN ROLAPP: Thank you, Tiger. I think I speak for all of us, glad to see you back. Thank you to our board members in attendance.

We had a productive meeting yesterday where our boards approved the Future Competition Committee's recommendation to establish a new competitive model for the PGA TOUR that will begin with the 2028 season.

A lot of work went into this process, and I would like to acknowledge some of the key participants. First, our player representatives on the committee: Tiger, Patrick, Maverick, Keith, Adam and Camilo, as well as our player director liaison, Joe Ogilvie.

I'd also like to thank strategic advisors: Joe Gorder, John Henry, and Theo Epstein.

To our players, especially our Player Advisory Council and chairman Lucas Glover, thank you to your contributions throughout.

Thank you to our media partners, tournament partners and corporate sponsors. Thank you for your engagement and input during this process.

At its core, this work was driven by a simple objective: To build the best version of the PGA TOUR, something that could endure and outlive us all. So where did we land?

One tour, two compelling series of events, played at the most worthy courses for the highest stakes, culminating in a true postseason that crowns the best golfer in the world. Let's break it down into four components.

Number one, the PGA TOUR Championship Series, our working title for track 1, will feature the best players competing against one another consistently throughout the season. The PGA TOUR Championship Series will consist of 23 to 24 events opening big in February and running through August.

Every regular season event will feature 120-player fields on average and a cut with minimum purses of $20 million per event.

Ultimately, when fans tune into the PGA TOUR Championship Series, they know they will see the best players in the world competing head-to-head.

Number two, the PGA TOUR Challenger Series, our working title for track 2. Comprised of future stars and players battling to return to the top, the PGA TOUR Challenger Series will run concurrently with the PGA TOUR Championship Series. The PGA TOUR Challenger Series will feature at least 20 events with 144-player fields, all with a cut.

The PGA TOUR Challenger Series is the primary path to the PGA TOUR Championship Series. The players earn promotion through either a two-win in-season promotion or by finishing the season in the top 20 on the points list.

The PGA TOUR Challenger Series will be played at familiar PGA TOUR venues and will be highly competitive and lucrative, with purses of at least $4 million per event.

As we work through eligibility for both series, we will continue to focus on our developmental pathways. What we all know today as the Korn Ferry TOUR, PGA TOUR Americas and PGA TOUR University, which will play a critical role in identifying and preparing the next generation of PGA TOUR players.

Number three, one thing we heard loud and clear from our fans was the desire for a more dramatic conclusion to the season. The PGA TOUR Championship Series will deliver exactly that during its season-ending events. The top 90 finishers at a minimum on the PGA TOUR Championship Series points list will retain their cards, while those who finish outside that number face relegation to the PGA TOUR Challenger Series.

We will also celebrate a regular season winner, recognizing the No. 1 finisher who distinguished himself against the best players in the world over the course of the season.

For the postseason, we will introduce match play and a reimagined TOUR Championship that will rotate among prestigious venues featuring the best of Championship Series players. This will include courses the PGA TOUR has never visited before.

Match play is a format our fans have been asking for, and I look forward to sharing more details about the postseason in my press conference at the TOUR Championship in August.

Number four, the fall. Following the core schedule from February to August, our fall calendar will now feature elements that touch every level of our competitive platform. The fall schedule will include a limited series of elevated international events with top players from the PGA TOUR Championship Series, which we intend to deliver in partnership with the DP World Tour as part of our continuing strategic alliance.

These events will represent some of the best existing professional golf events outside the United States, including prominent national opens.

The fall will also feature a last-chance domestic series, where players have a final opportunity to earn membership on the PGA TOUR Championship Series, and we will continue to conduct Q-school that provides access across the system.

The new PGA TOUR will be a connected platform and deliver significant benefits across the board. From emerging talent seeking opportunity to global superstars building legacy, every event serves a distinct purpose while contributing to one unified objective, to be the strongest, most compelling golf platform in the world.

For fans, it creates a more exciting, easier to follow experience with clearer stakes and more compelling head-to-head competition among the best players in the world. We know if we get this right for fans, everything else will follow.

For our partners, it creates more value through a stronger, more consistent, more engaging product that will drive sustained interest and growth.

For our players, it creates greater competitive clarity while reinforcing the qualities that make golf so unique. If you play well, you will be rewarded, both competitively and financially.

While today is a big step forward, what comes next is just as important. With the foundation of the model in place, we will begin to work to finalize details and specifics, including eligibility criteria and other areas important to our membership.

Simultaneously, we will move to execution, working with our partners around commercial and other operational matters to prepare for the full implementation in 2028.

To give everyone a sense of where we are as we look ahead to 2028's schedule, we already have 10 of 15 PGA TOUR Championship Series regular season events lined up for 2028. The remaining five spots will either be filled by existing events or new markets.

We look forward to announcing these events soon and plan to unveil the full PGA TOUR Championship Series schedule in the first quarter of next year, and during this process, we will provide updates as elements are finalized, including press conferences at the TOUR Championship and around upcoming board meetings in September and November.

In closing, this structure creates more compelling competition for fans and greater opportunity for players, bringing stronger value to our partners and the ability to further our philanthropic mission. We have made meaningful progress, but our work is far from finished. We know the best days of the PGA TOUR are ahead of us.

With that, I'm happy to take your questions.

Q. Rory last week referred to the Challenger Series or track 2 as a glorified Korn Ferry TOUR. How do you present it as something that's not that?

BRIAN ROLAPP: Yeah, I had a chance to speak with Rory today. We talked a bit about it, and I think he's made some comments publicly since then.

But I think the best way to think about what we're doing here is that right now we have 47 events at the PGA TOUR. We'll have 47 events going forward. That current model serves roughly 230 players. We'll serve that amount of players, the same.

We are just organized now in a more simple understanding competitively so our fans can understand it, our partners know what they're getting as far as value. So we think we've just organized the same tour into a much more interesting and competitive system.

If you look at the Challenger Series events, they'll be at venues you recognize. They'll be for healthy purses, which we announced today. They'll include a subset of the same 200 and change players that we have today. That is much different than what the Korn Ferry TOUR is today.

Q. As I'm sure you know, golf is a sport of traditionalists, and in talking with a lot of them over the last few months, there's definitely been sort of a through line of concern around -- maybe not even concern, but just questions about the necessity of these changes. I guess I just want to give you the opportunity to address those people. Why make these changes now?

BRIAN ROLAPP: Yeah, I think it's a great question. I think every sport has a tradition, and golf is no different. Golf is a rich one. We've always said from the beginning, it's our job to honor that tradition but not be overly bound by it. I think the best sports and the best organizations in the world operate that way.

I think the reason for change has been pretty clear. I think if you talk to our fans, if you talk to our partners, they are all looking for improvement, and there's one thing I learned in my old job: Innovation is extremely important if you want to move a sport forward. I think the PGA TOUR is different.

We also exist in a really competitive sports world. Whether you're competing for fans' attention, if you're competing for media dollars, which is the economic lifeblood of every sport in this country, you need to be constantly improving the product. I think we looked around and we saw what we need to do to increase fans' attention and create more value for our partners and felt this was necessary.

I think we look at this more as not dishonoring tradition. I think we are leaning more into the tradition, but for the benefit of everybody involved. I'll give you an example.

Golf has an amazing tradition of meritocracy, probably the best sport in the world that I can see about you earn what you earn and you do it inside the ropes and you're rewarded for it, and our athletes are conditioned that way. I think we got away from that.

One thing we heard consistently from fans and partners and even members of the PGA TOUR, we need to get back to the meritocracy. I think this system delivers on that promise.

Q. You mentioned, speaking of meritocracy, there's going to be a recognition of a regular season champion and then the playoffs after that. Why was it important to have someone recognized as the regular season champion, and what will be the delineation between someone who wins the regular season race as opposed to someone who comes out on top in the playoffs?

BRIAN ROLAPP: Yeah, it's a really good question. These were, I think, for me being new to the TOUR and new to the sport, some of the most productive and fascinating conversations in the Future Competition Committee, which is really player led on this subject.

And always felt that whatever postseason competition, whatever competition we put out there, if it doesn't feel authentic to the players, it won't feel authentic to anybody, including the fans.

I think in those discussions we thought, the players thought that it was important to have the season finale culminating in a regular season winner at the end of a regular season, and I could probably argue that if you beat the best 120 golfers over the series of a season, that is the most impressive accomplishment in the sport. I could argue that because you're consistently beating those, and it was important to do that.

At the same time, it was always important to set up a separate competition after that regular season culmination, where a subset of those best players can compete in a separate but also prestigious competition, bringing back match play. That's one thing we heard a lot from fans, from our partners is how do we embrace match play more, and we thought this separate competition was just a really compelling, great way to do that.

That was really the thinking, really recognizing the regular season winner but then also creating a new elite competition after that with a subset of the 120 golfers competing in a really compelling format.

Q. Could you explain the movement between the two series, and will players in the top series be able to play in the other series? Because it's unclear. Also, if you win two events during the season, do you move up automatically?

BRIAN ROLAPP: Yeah, so there's two questions there about if you are on the Challenger Series, how you move up. Right now there's two ways you move up. During the regular season, if you win twice, you can move up into the Championship Series. Also at the end of the season, you can be promoted up based on your finish at the end of the season standings in the Challenger Series.

There's also a fall competition where those who are at risk of being relegated down from Championship Series and those who are trying to fight to get in will have a separate competition where some access will be awarded there. Those are the ways in which you can be promoted up into the top series.

As far as can you play across either series, that was a topic we discussed a lot. Right now that is a mainstay of the system where we have these 47 events and you have different points that you earn. It's confusing to the fan.

But we thought in order to create a better schedule for our players but also deliver what we want to deliver, which is the best 120 people playing consistently week in and week out, that if you're on the Championship Series, you cannot play down or play onto the Challenger Series. We think for the integrity of the competition, we think for the integrity of what we're delivering to our tournament partners that it was important to do that.

Q. I know you met with the players here today. What has been the biggest concern among the players? And also having Tiger on board, can you talk about his role and how valuable it was to have him behind these changes?

BRIAN ROLAPP: Yeah, I think having Tiger involved was a tremendous asset and a privilege. His insight into the game as a player but also being around it his whole life, the respect he has earned from fans, from his fellow members, from partners is invaluable. So his leadership has been tremendous. We're fortunate to have him.

I think as far as your concerns on what the players had, I think -- I'm not sure I'd classify it as concerns. I think everybody was really focused on trying to fulfill the objectives of making the PGA TOUR better for everybody, whether you're a top player or not so top player, for our partners, for our media partners.

And what it necessitated is to get outside your personal situation and think holistically and really trying to build something that long after these player directors are gone that stands the test of time as a competitive model and a system that gets better and better and better.

We had players who are at every stage of their career, every stage of the OWGR rankings, and they all sort of represented different views of the TOUR, but they all came together thinking about the collective, which was just great to see.

I think their concern was just trying to get it right. They took this responsibility seriously. So when you do that, you're always going to have concerns and worries, but I think we all worked through them and we're pretty happy where we're coming out.

Q. How will Korn Ferry, DP World Tour, Q-school be incorporated into the two series? Can you play your way into the top one from them, or will it be split? Just as a follow-up, is FedEx going to be involved in the overall points series with the bonus money that we've come to know over the last two decades or so?

BRIAN ROLAPP: So on the second point first, on FedEx, they've been an amazing partner. The PGA TOUR is blessed to have tremendous corporate support. This system is really designed to bring more value to our partners.

The details of how all of our commercial agreements will work, we're going to work that out. But our hope is to create more value for FedEx and everybody else. We're in an existing contract, and we're going to honor that.

As far as the other pathways, as I mentioned, whether that's Korn Ferry or PGA TOUR Americas, I think we have more work to do on that, but we remain committed to investing in that in order that we continue to build a pipeline of the next generation of PGA TOUR players. So there will be pathways into the Challenger Series to do that.

The DP World Tour, I mentioned we're currently having conversations around our strategic alliance that expires in 2027. We would like to partner with them as part of our fall and for lack of a better word, off-season, so that we can actually bring more of our players internationally.

So that's all to be determined and will be subject to further announcements, but that's what we're working on.

Q. Are sponsors committed to filling out these bigger and additional purses, and if they're not, is the TOUR prepared to subsidize them, and how long can the TOUR actually do that?

BRIAN ROLAPP: I think the purse levels we announced today, we feel very confident that we are building an economic model that can support those purses. We wouldn't have announced them if we didn't. So we feel very good about those purse levels, and we feel very good about the economic growth of the PGA TOUR that this new model will produce.

We have not formally been to market on some of these events, but we've had numerous unsolicited inbounds indications of interest, financial offers to be part of it that are confirming that we feel pretty good about the economic model.

Q. It looks like 23 to 24 big events in a roughly seven-month span. How would you address any load management concerns, and how will off weeks work on the PGA TOUR?

BRIAN ROLAPP: Yeah, I think it's important to note that it had a lot of conversation because we've been very clear we're trying to create a competition in times of the year when we think we can get the most attention, and we think this time of the year, we think that's an opportunity to do that.

We also understand that PGA TOUR members cannot play every week, nor are we requiring them to do that. So we aren't changing the model. They're not under contract. We're not going to force them to play anything. But we do think we've designed a model that will allow them to take some tournaments off and still compete for the regular season title and other things.

I think if you look at the math, we think we will deliver very, very strong fields week in and week out, and that's the entire point.

Q. To follow up on the FedEx question, will the champion in 2028, do you have a name for the trophy he's going to win if it's not FedEx? Will there be a corporate name attached to it?

BRIAN ROLAPP: We haven't made any decisions on the naming conventions for future champions, no.

Q. On the fall stuff, when you're talking about some of these international events that could include Championship Series players, what reward would they get for winning, just money, or is there anything that -- why would they go?

BRIAN ROLAPP: I think, look, as far as -- we've talked a lot to our members about this. They clearly want to play outside of the dates that I've outlined here. Different members have different motivations for where they play, when they play, why they play. I think in the fall it's our responsibility to create compelling opportunities for them to do just that.

We also have a lot of dual members. We have a lot of international members who want to play internationally. We have a lot of golf fans who don't live in this country. I think it's important for us to serve the rest of the world and grow the game.

So I think we'll just create the right opportunities for them to play, and they all have their different motivations to play.

Q. Brian, how did you explain to the players the reasoning behind the difference in -- such a significant difference in the purses for track 1 and track 2?

BRIAN ROLAPP: I think it's a function of the level of event, where we're creating a system where we're putting the best golfers in the world -- how do you know they're the best golfers in the world? It's because they've earned their way into it -- and creating a system where they're going to be competing consistently.

That's going to yield a higher caliber of golfer by definition, and that's going to yield a higher commercial opportunity for sponsors. So you have a better economic value to support those purses.

I think there's always been varying levels of purses based on the events and level of competition. This is no different. This is just more structured around that.

Q. In your letter to the fans, you mentioned the importance of wanting the best players in the world to play as much as possible. Along those lines, have you had conversations this year with Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm? If yes, what did you discuss? If no, why not?

BRIAN ROLAPP: I tend to keep my private conversations with anybody just that, private. But I will say our concentration honestly has been on this. This is what we've been concentrating on is how to make the PGA TOUR better.

I read what you read on LIV. I'm not sure what the future of that is or those players. They're under contract, and until that's no longer the case, I don't think we need to overly worry about it. We're focused on the PGA TOUR.

Q. When news broke that PIF was no longer going to support LIV financially, did that change any of the thinking of how you went about this? The other part about what Rory said was that the current system wasn't so bad. Did it change at all how you guys thought?

BRIAN ROLAPP: It's a good question. I think it's important to note -- well, I've been pretty public by saying whatever happened with LIV or happened in the golf ecosystem before I got here, there was some good that came of it in that it maybe exposed some weaknesses in the PGA TOUR and our model, but this work was never about that.

This work was about, whether LIV existed or not, for all the reasons I talked about, in this competitive landscape we operate in, how do you actually make the PGA TOUR the best version of itself? Because if you're not changing and getting better, you can't expect to improve. That's what the marketplace necessitates.

This was never about any competition. It was more about how do we compete successfully in a really competitive world where there are a million things for people's time and attention. We're really interested in serving PGA TOUR fans, but we're really interested in growing the fan base and to people who have never experienced the PGA TOUR. We want to make the sport and the TOUR much more accessible, and we think these are the changes that will do that.

Q. What avenues are there for non-members to play on the Championship Series? There's so many examples like Tiger, for instance, or Tom Kim and Michael Brennan more recently, winning to earn their PGA TOUR status. Are those stories going to go away now?

BRIAN ROLAPP: No, I think we're working a lot on eligibility, but when the dust settles, there will be a clear form of eligibility, and how you earn your way into the Championship Series will be clear.

Some of the eligibility work we're doing will have to do with medicals, guys get hurt, how do we deal with that? Career milestones and accomplishments, how do we deal with that? Current ones and in the future. I think we're still working on that, and I think there's an effort from the committee to recognize career accomplishments.

But at the end of the day, it will be the meritocracy that wins out.

Q. On the Challenger Series will there be sponsor exemptions and Monday qualifiers?

BRIAN ROLAPP: On the Challenger Series we're still working through that. What we do know is on the Championship Series there will not be sponsorship exemptions.

Q. But there's no decision on Monday qualifiers for the Championship Series?

BRIAN ROLAPP: Correct, there will be. Hold on, let me make sure I get this right. On the Challenger Series there will be Monday qualifiers, not on the Championship Series.

Q. Are you able to confirm some new sites for 2028, particularly a return to TPC Boston or some of those old sites that you used to visit?

BRIAN ROLAPP: I think we have 10 of the 15 identified. Those will be subject to further announcement. We're not prepared to announce anything today.

But we're very excited about the attention we're getting and the demand for these events as well as others.

Q. The TOUR Championship will be rotating venues in the future. Aside from that, will the rest of the Championship Series stops be mostly set in stone year to year or will the postseason change year to year? What type of rotation do you see on other events?

BRIAN ROLAPP: I think we're working that out. I think in the postseason we certainly want to rotate. I think on the Championship Series, I think our view is to have multiyear agreements in different sites.

Q. In arriving at match play for the TOUR Championship, how much of that was a clamoring from the players for match play, or how much of it was previous formats just not seeming to stick at that event?

BRIAN ROLAPP: I mean, I think there were a lot of inputs that went into it, from players, from partners, sponsors, media partners, from fans.

I think match play was one that consistently came up in numerous conversations we had. There's great examples in the golf ecosystem for match play that's compelling and that works, not only for fans, but also, as I mentioned, that the players feel are compelling.

Our focus -- we knew fans and partners really liked the idea. Our focus was to make sure that the players felt it was authentic, and I think that's where most of the attention was. As we come out with more details, I think you'll see that.

Q. The 10 spots that come from the DP World Tour, is that still on the table in discussions for the future? If so, which series would they go to?

BRIAN ROLAPP: That's all being discussed. It hasn't been decided. We've had a really successful relationship with the DP World Tour, inclusive of those cards.

I think as we create this new model -- and the timing is very good because we're having current discussions with the DP World Tour. That is yet to be decided, but that's one of the many things we're speaking about.

Q. Just a really tiny clarification. When you use the phrasing "courses we've never been to," are you talking about something like a Chicago Golf Club or something that hasn't been built yet? Chicago, just as an example.

BRIAN ROLAPP: I think the goal is to go to prestigious courses that we're not there a lot, that fans will recognize as prestigious.

We're also not above building things on our own. I think one of the most successful tournaments in the world, you can't argue it, is THE PLAYERS Championship. That was a course that was built for that event. That's certainly on the table.

But I think there are plenty of great golf courses in this country that we'd like to get to.

Q. Assuming that you believe the new model will lead to greater media rights deal annually, how much of that assumption would be based off of new partners, i.e., streamers, coming into a partnership with the TOUR?

BRIAN ROLAPP: I don't think we know that yet. I think we have yet to have those discussions, but we have great partners now who do a good job, who have brought input into this process.

I will say, and I have lots of experience with this, I think the demand for live sports programming is still at an all-time high, but not all live sports programming is the same. You need to compete.

The distribution options and the financial backing or rights fees available are not limitless, so you need to innovate and be the best you can.

I believe these changes put us in a much better position to compete with all of the alternatives that any media partner has for their programming dollars.

Q. There have been a number of separate questions about pathways to the Challenger Series, but a field of 144 players, what is the process going to be to initially fill the Challenger Series?

BRIAN ROLAPP: Yeah, that's a good question. We are going to work on that. That's one of the many eligibility questions we're working through, which we will have before the end of the calendar year.

I think it's important, and what we said to the players and to the PGA TOUR members, that before they start 2027, they will know exactly what they're playing for. So they will know what the eligibility requirements will be for either series well in advance before the season starts. So that's something we're working on now.

Q. I know you said earlier that career achievements is going to be one of the things considered for the Championship Series. You've got all that to work through. But would it be fair to assume that you're going to consider one such as having 180 PGA TOUR events or more to be considered among those career achievements to be eligible for those tournaments?

BRIAN ROLAPP: I think all those eligibility questions we're in the middle of answering. I think it would be premature to speculate or to give you part of the answer.

Q. With the ability for the Championship Series players to play down, there's bound to be some scenarios where they can't support a hometown event or a tournament that feels really special to them. What would be your message to players who could potentially be missing out on that scenario?

BRIAN ROLAPP: I think we talked a lot about that. Again, I think it's important to Zoom out and look at what we're trying to accomplish. We're trying to build the best competitive model we can for our members and for fans and ultimately for our partners.

By definition, we're not going to fulfill every preference of every stakeholder. I think that's impossible. But I think what we can do is build something bigger than ourselves, and that's one of the trade-offs I think we'd have to consider.

But we believe that having this Championship Series and delivering to fans the best golfers week in and week out is a goal worth pursuing, and that's the larger ideal.

So we work through it.

Q. Just curious if you solicited feedback from the major championships, OWGR and the other stakeholders in the ecosystem?

BRIAN ROLAPP: Yeah, we've been talking to them the whole time and have given them an insight on what we're working on and what we're doing. They're obviously a really important part of the ecosystem. They do a great job of pulling in non-golf fans in their events, and I think that's really good for the sport. We've certainly been in contact with them.

Q. How important was it to have uniform points for the Championship Series events?

BRIAN ROLAPP: I think it was really important. I think it, for lack of a better word, took the tax code out of the standings. It made it very clear competitively what members were playing for and made it very clear to fans what they were playing for, and it really made possible, or will make possible, the celebration of the regular season winner, which as I mentioned, when the dust settles, will be the most impressive accomplishment in the game.

I think in order to accomplish that as well as other things, we needed to do that. We have a little bit more flexibility on the Challenger Series, but I think it was a really important element.

Q. On the subject of looking forward, the USGA announced last week at the U.S. Open that they are changing some of the things that are going to be related to golf ball roll back, and you guys had recently surveyed members of the PGA TOUR about their position on distance, roll back, et cetera. Are there any updates you can provide for us about the information that came from that survey or anything you can share on that front?

BRIAN ROLAPP: I don't think anything new. I think we had a really good meeting at the Memorial with the R&A and the USGA. You've seen the announcement since then.

I think they have a profound responsibility for making rules of the game, both amateur and professional, and I think they heard our points of view, and they heard, as importantly or more importantly, the points of view of our members, which resulted in the announcement of last week, which I think is really healthy.

We're going to continue to work with them on what's best for the game, and I commend them on their work.

Q. Could you share what you think this means to the future of this particular tournament? What would you say about the way the Travelers Championship fits in and whether you expect any changes in status or scheduling, anything?

BRIAN ROLAPP: Again, we're not making any announcements on those tournaments, but I will say this has been an extremely successful tournament by every metric. Our members love it. The Travelers is an amazing partner. We obviously have an affinity for this course.

This is a market that doesn't get many professional sports. It's an opportunity for us. They do a wonderful job. So I think they do a lot of things that we're looking for in a Championship Series event.

Q. I'm curious how far the vision that we are seeing today for the PGA TOUR differentiates from the original vision you had for this when you entered the job 12 months ago?

BRIAN ROLAPP: I don't know because I'm not sure I had a defined outcome. I think we all just sort of unified as a group around the principles of what we were solving for.

When I first talked about this in August and we formulated the committee, it had a lot to do with the high principles of scarcity, parity and simplicity. Then when we talked with you at THE PLAYERS Championship, we even got a little more specific on those. Then today, this is the result of that work.

I think very much the vision is intact. Some wise men once said be rigid on the vision but flexible on the details, and I think we're accomplishing that.

I also think when we're done with this, it won't be the end. If you're going to make a commitment to innovate and make your sport better, you're always going to change and react and make the necessary changes. That's what I mean by honoring tradition but don't be overly bound by it. That's not how you move a sport forward.

I think this is one stop in the journey, and we'll keep at it.

Q. Following up on the roll-back question that was asked just a bit ago, in that press conference, Mike Whan said he was encouraged that some of the players involved in this discussion are more open to some things that he thought the door had been closed on, and kind of the idea of the model of local rule and having maybe different equipment being used by people on the PGA TOUR than the rest of recreational golfers. Is that something that the TOUR is now willing to discuss?

BRIAN ROLAPP: I won't speak for Mike, but I think dialogue is always a really productive and beneficial thing. I think, especially for rules that are going to impact the people that are playing the game at the highest level, I think that's always good.

I think everything is on the table. I think we're working with the USGA and the R&A to find out what the best solution is going forward, but obviously nothing to announce or detail today.

JOE GORDER: Good morning, everybody. Well, obviously a lot of work was done by the board over the last many months, and it's all been very constructive and good and is very exciting. But what you heard about just now wasn't all of the major decisions and activities that were made by the board yesterday.

As you know, Jay Monahan had announced that he was planning to retire as commissioner of the PGA TOUR at the end of the year, which he continues to believe he's going to do, and as a result, the board voted yesterday to elect Brian Rolapp to be the next commissioner of the PGA TOUR when Jay steps down as commissioner at the end of this year. So Brian will have the role of commissioner and CEO of the PGA TOUR going forward.

I'll just say this: We all go through transitions in life, and this transition from Jay to Brian has been a textbook transition. Jay has done an incredible job supporting Brian, providing his wisdom and counsel to Brian, and being there every step of the way. He has sprinted this far and I'm sure he's going to sprint through the tape at the end of the year.

The fact that these two have worked so well and collaborated so well really gives the board total confidence in this decision that we've made for Brian to take the role as commissioner, also.

If you wouldn't mind, I think it's only appropriate that, number one, we congratulate Brian for the new additional role and that we congratulate Jay for the work that he's done to be sure that this transition went as well as it did. So please join me.

[Applause.]

JAY MONAHAN: Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Tiger, for your leadership and for your partnership. Serving the PGA TOUR as commissioner has been one of the greatest honors of my professional life. I am deeply grateful to our membership, our player directors, the Player Advisory Council, my colleagues, every single one of them, and the PGA TOUR boards for their support, partnership and trust throughout my tenure.

I'm also indebted to my predecessors, Tim Finchem and Deane Beman, for their unwavering belief in our team and for the wisdom and counsel they've shared over the years. Their leadership helped shape the PGA TOUR into the organization it is today, and I've been fortunate to build upon the foundation that they created.

When the PGA TOUR began the search for a CEO, we believed Brian Rolapp was the right leader at the right time to help guide our organization into its next chapter. Over the past year, I've had the opportunity to work very closely with Brian. What has impressed me most is not only his strategic vision, a vision culminating today, but also the way he listens, the way he builds trust, and the way he brings people together.

He also has a remarkable ability to balance innovation with respect for our traditions in this game, while keeping our players, fans and partners at the center of every decision.

Every interaction I've had with Brian this past year has reinforced our belief that he's the right leader to guide the PGA TOUR into its next era. It's my privilege to be up here on stage alongside Joe Gorder, Tiger Woods and to announce that Brian will be the fifth commissioner of the PGA TOUR effective January 1, 2027.

Again, I've been incredibly impressed by a lot of things about Brian, but most notably his judgment, his leadership and his humility. I look forward to supporting him through this transition over the next six months.

The PGA TOUR has never been better positioned for the future. With Brian at the helm, I'm more confident than ever that our best days are straight ahead of us.

Again, please join me in congratulating and welcoming our next commissioner of the PGA TOUR, Brian Rolapp.

[Applause.)