Brian Rolapp says he’s been keeping up with current events.
But any news the PGA Tour’s CEO had regarding a potential accelerated return of LIV Golf players to his tour was only old news.
In announcing details of a new format coming to the PGA Tour in 2028, Rolapp said Tuesday that the PGA Tour would not re-introduce its “Returning Member Program” to bring back one-time Tour pros who had joined LIV. Rolapp had also said that last month at the Tour Championship, but in the weeks since, LIV has filed for bankruptcy, leading to speculation that its players may be seeking to leave.
But those pros will continue to face a one-year suspension — and not be brought back quickly under a series of fines and penalties, as had been outlined in January under the Returning Member Program. Only Brooks Koepka took the offer, though under its specifics, it had also was available to Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith.
About 250 words into his comments on Tuesday, Rolapp, unprompted, explained the decision this way:
“Before we get to your questions on this announcement, I will briefly address LIV because I know it has been in the news recently, and I expect it may come up today,” he said. “As I said a few weeks ago in Atlanta, there are really three things when it comes to anyone who wants to compete on the PGA Tour.
“One, the PGA Tour is built on meritocracy. Every player, whether they are a member or want to become one, must earn their place. Two, we are a membership organization; we have rules, and those rules exist for lots of reasons, including fairness and competitive balance. Rules matter, and they must be enforced.
“Which brings me to number three, accountability and discipline. These are essential elements for any sports league and are certainly for the integrity of the PGA Tour and the sport. It’s what holds the Tour together. Those are guiding principles for us.
“In terms of where we are today, we are not currently contemplating a returning-member program like the one you saw in January. Everyone at the PGA Tour, myself included, has been focused on what is best for the organization. The items approved by the boards yesterday are part of the progression in building the optimal competitive model for the future.”
Later in the press conference, Rolapp was also asked whether the Tour’s Future Competition Committee had any thoughts on bringing back LIV players.
“Yeah, I think the Future Competition Committee was really just focused on the competitive model that we’ve been discussing over the past few months,” he said. “Again, it’s almost repetitive, but it’s worth saying again, really leaning into meritocracy, balancing that with what you’ve seen today about winning and what that means in career milestones.
“So I think it’s also — we’ve also, which we haven’t announced today, but we’re also thinking through and haven’t made any decisions on how the DP World Tour will fit into that. You notice that’s not part of the announcement. That’s very much under discussion both internally and as we continue our discussions with the DP World Tour.
