The last 12 months had a bit of everything – a career Grand Slam, Ryder Cup chaos and much more. With 2026 on the horizon, our writers look at the most memorable moments from 2025 and explain why they mattered.
Greatest Golf Moments of 2025 No. 2: New sheriff(s) in town
Golf fans would be forgiven for rolling their eyes at another year gone by without meaningful progress in reunification in the men’s game or larger metrics of appreciation from the women’s game. On those fronts, 2025 wasn’t very sexy. But the year gave much more impetus to action, tangible, SIGNIFICANT difference in pro golf than it seemed. AND why? The answer is simple: Leadership.
Almost every meaningful pro golf tour — save the DP World Tour — has new leadership as we head into 2026. For the LPGA Tour, Craig Kessler signed on as the new commissioner after stints at the PGA of America and as an executive in the startup world. For LIV Golf, Scott O’Neil joined the group, hoping his own processThe Philadelphia 76ers’ tenure at the helm of basketball would provide meaningful wisdom for a golf tournament that is still finding its footing. And for the PGA Tour – arguably the biggest of those employed – the new general manager was Brian Rolapp, Roger Goodell’s longtime right-hand man and the NFL’s longtime media czar, who was brought in to take the reins by outgoing (and embattled) commissioner Jay Monahan.
Normally it would feel wrong to rank hires executive as one of the biggest stories of 2025, but there is some confidence involved in that high ranking. The previous generation of “Pro” golf leadership changed many things, but his final stretch at the top was marked by a period of stagnation – the battle lines drawn, the rules written. The months since those leaders were replaced have revealed a renewed sense of energy around reimagining golf as we know it and as we watch it. Sometimes, new leadership can be much more than changing the curtains.
Rolapp joined the tour in the middle of the summer, shook a lot of hands and started charting a new route. The biggest change came in the form of the Future Competitions Committee – a brand new group charged with cultivating the ideal shape of the future of the PGA Tour, and including Tiger Woods as its leader. we don’t know everything the so-called “FCC” is gearing up, but we know it starts with a push to create scarcity. In short, we believe this means fewer, bigger PGA Tour events on the annual calendar. For inspiration, Rolapp had to look no further than the importance of the next week of the NFL schedule — Week 18 — where nearly every single game is important to a playoff start, draft positioning or postseason dreams. Without such a (relatively) short and small season, these games may not (and may not) be felt. to be) as significant. Sometimes, less actually IS more.
O’Neil had to play a slightly different ball game. More than any competitive change, O’Neil first had to establish himself as a new face for the rookies. His predecessor, Greg Norman, had run out of patience with nearly every governing body in the sport, raising tensions between the fledgling league and its competitors. O’Neil’s had to mend relationships – particularly with the Official World Golf Ranking, in pursuit of major championship eligibility – and was able to work with the USGA and R&A to create additional exemptions in their major championships for LIV players. O’Neil has admitted to having a relationship with Rolapp, however small, that offers the faintest hope for some unity in the men’s game. He’s also debuted a new calling card for the role he hopes LIV will play in the golf landscape: Complete, not compete. But whether that happens or not, O’Neil is the captain of the LIV ship and he is much more available as a public encounter leader than his predecessor.
Like Rolapp, Kessler joined the LPGA in the latter half of the summer, coming over from the PGA of America, where he was Chief Operating Officer. He showed up in time to oversee much more of the regular season than Rolapp could, and has made himself widely available to the golf media. Take his last talk with GOLF.com’s James Colganwhere he discussed changing media trends and the “attention economy.”
“Watching the next generation of LPGA athletes consume media and entertainment has been completely uncomfortable for me.” Kessler told Colgan. “We’re thinking about winning our share of the attention economy, and we’re making the right moves in the right way to succeed.”
During his few months on the job, Kessler landed the Saudi PIF as a new tour sponsor and also included a better LPGA broadcast starting in 2026. (50% more cameras, drone footage and Trackman-enhanced photo tracking). And that’s why these hires, together, are such an important story from 2025. They seem to have a lot of support.
O’Neil has world ranking points as high as anything else on his priority list, and it looks like LIV will be checking that box soon. Rolapp arrived with a promise to make “significant change,” and just a few months later we’re talking about a tour schedule that doesn’t start until February. Not everyone will like this, but at least it will start to move the train out of the station and into a new direction.
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