The final question of Tiger Woods’ Tuesday press conference at the World Challenge of Heroes produced an unexpectedly poignant answer.
“You are chairing the Future Races Committee,” began a reporter. “I would like to know, personally, what is your motivation to contribute so much to the power of the PGA Tour?”
It’s a central question for the present and future of men’s professional golf. Woods has enough money, prestige and time to do just about anything, of course — but he’s chosen to fill his days with Zoom calls and strategy meetings in an effort to reinvent a tournament in which his competitive days are numbered. Is Woods careless with his time? No one thinks so. But no one knew how carefully he had thought about his decision to moonlight as a golf bureaucrat. Not until Woods answered the question.
“Well, the PGA Tour gave me an opportunity to follow a childhood dream,” he said. “I had a chance to hit my first ball in my first PGA Tour event when I was 16. I know that was 33 years ago, but I’ve been involved with the PGA Tour ever since.
“A little kid from Cypress, California, growing up on a par-3 course, had a chance to play against the best players in the world and get to No. 1 in the World. I had a chance to be involved in a lot of different things on our tour. This is a different opportunity to make an impact on the tour.
“I did it with my golf clubs, hit a few shots here and there and I was able to do that. Now I’m able to make an impact in a different way for other generations to come. Not just the generations I played against, but the generations to come. As a 16-year-old looking for a place to play, maybe hoping to play the PGA Tour.”
Woods’ monologue hit on a theme we haven’t heard much of lately: That the PGA Tour isn’t a product that needs (again) optimization and (banging its head on the table) profit maximization. It prompted us to wonder if the PGA Tour could also be something else entirely: A place where childhood dreams come true.
As Woods reminded us, his first Tour appearance came 33 years ago. He’s about to turn 50, which means he’s lived two-thirds of his life as a PGA Tour golfer. We are all old, but every person fears age when time is measured in multiples and fractions. Like this: Woods has lived more than half his life since he first hosted the Hero World Challenge; he started his first limited-overs invitational at the age of 24 … 25 years ago. In this year’s field, only Akshay Bhatia – who turns 24 next month – is younger than Woods at that time. Tom Lehman won the Williams World Challenge 2000. He is 66 years old now. Then again, we’re all old.
“The guys I played with when we first had the World Challenge in the early 2000s, they’re all — I’m the youngest,” Woods said. “I’m about to turn 50, so those guys are all on the Champions Tour or even retired from the game of golf. They don’t play anymore.”
A look around the media center served as a reminder that Woods’ longevity isn’t just about the players — he’s outlived just about everyone. Journalists, tournament officials, industry trends. How many newspapers had golf writers covering that first event? By my count, this time there were zero.
Time wins and time changes. Hearing Woods speak in the Bahamas only reinforced these true ideas. The last member of the old guard is now responsible for leading a coalition taking a bulldozer — or at least a pair of sharp scissors — to the schedule and structure of the tournament as we know it. The ultimate insider seems ill-equipped to rethink the current structure, but that is Woods’ directive as chairman of the new Future Competition Committee, whose stated goal is to create an “optimal competitive model” for professional golf.
“I mean, to be honest with you, we started with a blank slate,” Woods said. “What would be the best product we could create? What would it look like?”
Enter his partner in revolution, new PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp.
In past generations, tournament commissioner candidates were evaluated on an unofficial rubric of traits such as “golf background” and “golf handicap.” Rolapp, who was the NFL’s No. 2 before taking the Tour’s top job this summer, is woefully unqualified by those metrics, but the envy of the sports world almost everywhere else. In this strange time in golf, Rolapp’s lack of golf experience is treated as an advantage rather than a handicap. His outsider perspective means he has a fresh set of eyes. He and Woods are an unlikely pair — but as the ultimate insider and outsider, perhaps they’re also perfectly complementary.
On Tuesday evening in Albany — the exquisite and exclusive Bahamas retreat that serves as Hero’s host — Woods and Rolapp led a pitch meeting for players on the progress of the Future Competitions Committee. The subtext was clear: the two tournament leaders would address the future.
Since his hiring, Tour pros have repeatedly described Rolapp using two words — “impressive” and “direct.” Due in no small part to a general distrust of tournament leadership since the surprise LIV peace accord of June 2023, players make these two attributes sound like a ringing endorsement. The FCC’s plans have not been finalized, but an informal survey of players on Wednesday gave positive reviews of their process and delivery. Rolapp is transparent. He makes things look simple. He is aware of the power of tradition, but is not personally attached to it. He is a laser-focused pragmatist. And every player on the ground was reportedly present at the meeting, a small but critical show of credibility.
Scottie Scheffler praised Rolapp’s wit and work ethic.
“I’ve been very pleased with the conversations I’ve had with him, the things I’ve heard,” said the world No.1. “I think they’re looking at things the right way and I’m excited about some of the changes they’re looking to make.”
Keegan Bradley appreciated his urgency.
“I think Brian is trying to make changes right away and he definitely has a big vision to make the Tour the best it can be,” the Ryder Cup captain said. “I really like the fact that we’re not waiting, because it’s not ‘we’re going to change in three, four years.’ No, we’re going to do it next year.”
What about Woods’ rating?
“Brian has been fantastic,” he said. “What he’s done so far in a short time with his leadership skills and his personality and the way he handles situations, his composure, his wit, his directness, his transparency, all the things that we were looking for and needed on tour – he’s delivered in spades.”
Now comes the hard part: Action.
Rolapp has met one-on-one with dozens of Tour pros, either in person or over the phone. There are concerns about change on the horizon, but many players have resigned themselves to it. After all, there is a widespread sense that the Tour has operated inefficiently for decades — the product of another old guard that honored traditions even when they didn’t always make sense. Why is every event owned and operated by someone else? Why isn’t the tour in Chicago or Boston or Seattle or New York? Why IS tour in Memphis in August? When you have Signature Events and Alternative Events, what does it really mean to win a PGA Tour event? Some things could use simplification. Some traditions could use a shake. Time wins and time changes.
That’s why Tiger Woods became a bureaucrat, and that’s why he cares about Zoom’s calls: Because he knows the old guard is eventually replaced — even when the old guard is Tiger Woods.
But the childhood dream continues.
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