It didn’t take long for new PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp to field a question about the divided men’s game, LIV Golf and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia during a media session Tuesday at the Travelers Championship in which he also praised Tiger Woods and his participation in the process.
Rolapp, who earlier was named to the newly created position that has him oversee PGA Tour Inc. as well as PGA Tour Enterprises, will be tasked with—among many other things—seeing a resolution to the ongoing discourse involving the Tour and the LIV Golf League, whose players are barred from competing in PGA Tour events.
“I think everyone is talking about that,” Rolapp told reporters in Cromwell, Conn., site of the Travelers. “My view is I come in with a pretty clean sheet of paper. I also come in knowing that there’s a lot to learn.
“Everything that works in the football world may not work in the golf world. When it comes to that situation particularly, I think the fans have been pretty clear. They want to see the best golfers competing against each other. I think everybody as a golf fan. I agree with that. When it comes to the situation with LIV, I think that’s a complex situation that’s probably something I should learn more about before I speak. But I will say my focus is on growing the Tour, making it better, and really moving on from the position of strength that it has.”
Rolapp comes to the PGA Tour after 20 years at the NFL in various roles at the executive level, including working closely on all of the league’s media initiatives.
For two years, the Tour has been working to come to an agreement with the PIF—which backs LIV Golf—with no resolution forthcoming. After talks seemed promising earlier in the year, a deal seems less imminent.
Asked if he believed the Tour could move on without a deal with the PIF, Rolapp said:
“Again, I’m not close enough to any of those discussions, but I will say what I saw regardless of that is a very strong Tour. I see a strong product. I see strong golfers. I think the signature events have been a huge and important progression in the sport. So I see strength that, just don’t take my word for it, look at the underlying fundamentals; they’re strong. I think that really speaks to some of the changes that have been made in the last few years.”
Rolapp was vetted via members of the Strategic Sports Group, which has invested $1.5 billion in PGA Tour Enterprises. Arthur Blank, owner of the Atlanta Falcons and a member of SSG, was on hand Tuesday for the announcement, as was Woods, who is recovering from an Achilles injury.
“I think I would classify Tiger’s influence as significant,” Rolapp said. “He works hard. He’s smart. He’s dedicated. I would say that about Tiger and all these player representatives and other board members, they work really hard and they care a lot.
“I think the amount of time and work they’re putting into this and rethinking this has been very impressive to me, and I think I would point out Tiger specifically. He certainly cares about the game. I won’t speak for him. He can speak for himself. But from what I’ve seen, the amount of time and dedication and work he’s putting into this is—he’s driving—doing this for, not his legacy necessarily, but he’s doing it for the benefit of the next generation of players, and that comes through significantly.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as New PGA Tour CEO Addresses ‘Complex Situation’ of Ongoing Talks with LIV Golf.