PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan Syndication: Florida Times-Union

After officially hiring a longtime NFL executive as its CEO, the go-forward plan for the PGA Tour’s commissioner is coming into focus.

According to a report by Josh Carpenter in Sports Business Journal, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan will step down from his role at the end of 2026. Incoming CEO Brian Rolapp will begin to lead day-to-day operations as Monahan helps usher the tour through a transition period.

Both moves were largely expected before being officially announced on Tuesday. But the announcements brought clarity as to how the roles of “CEO” and “commissioner” are being defined.

Prior reporting indicated that the CEO would lead the newly created for-profit arm of the PGA Tour, PGA Tour Enterprises, while the commissioner would oversee non-commercial operations. Now, it’s clear that the CEO will be the sole person in charge of the PGA Tour, while the commissioner role will be filled and given a more ceremonial function.

“Brian is the singular future leader of the PGA Tour,” Monahan told SBJ. “He’s the CEO. The team that has reported to me is going to report to him and we’re going to work arm in arm, day by day to make certain that we’re getting Brian to the exact position that he wants to get to, and that means not only executing in the short term, but putting him in the position to be able to define the future state of the PGA Tour.”

The decision for Monahan to step down was made over a year ago, per SBJ. Rolapp had emerged as a contender to lead the PGA Tour as early as January 2024.

Monahan has, of course, faced substantial criticism during his tenure from both inside and outside the PGA Tour over his handling of the LIV Golf situation. Just over two years ago, Monahan joined Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan on CNBC to announce a partnership between the warring golf leagues.

Detractors were quick to point out Monahan’s moral hypocrisy after the commissioner had regularly cited Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record as a reason PGA Tour players shouldn’t defect to the league. In June 2023, Monahan took a leave of absence from the PGA Tour as he dealt with anxiety-related health issues stemming from the announcement.

In the intervening two years, Monahan has failed to strike a deal with LIV Golf as promised, and the sport of golf remains divided. While some see that reality as a failure, it’s also reasonable to believe that Monahan has the PGA Tour in a much stronger position now than he did two years ago when a LIV partnership was announced. The Saudi tour finds itself struggling to gain traction in the United States, and commercial viability for the rogue golf league remains a laughable concept. Meanwhile, the PGA Tour has secured $1.5 billion in investment from Strategic Sports Group, eliminated its costly legal battles with LIV, and has retained the vast majority of its player talent in the past year.

Despite his impending departure, Monahan seems content with the path the PGA Tour is now taking. “We went through a thorough, productive and ultimately inspiring process that got us to a place where, we unanimously chose Brian,” Monahan told SBJ late last week. “I agreed to stay on through the end of my term to make certain that I do my part to ensure a smooth transition. I’m going to fully support Brian as he steps into the role.”

Reunification will now seem to fall squarely on Rolapp’s shoulders as he leads the PGA Tour into a new era.

About Drew Lerner

Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.