Brian Rolapp Weighs LIV Golf Debate and Shares Upbeat View on What's Next

Apr 20, 2026, 7:50 PM CUT

August 20, 2025, Atlanta, Georgia, USA: Brian Rolapp, Chief Executive Officer of the PGA, Golf Herren Tour, speaks to the media ahead of the 2025 TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club. Atlanta USA - ZUMAw109 20250820_fap_w109_005 Copyright: xDebbyxWongx

PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp had a simple answer when asked about LIV Golf's chaotic week. He's focused on improving the PGA Tour, and he thinks LIV Golf actually helped him do that.

Then he made a more interesting point on a clip shared by Flushing It on April 20. Rolapp took a different tone by giving the rival league credit instead of simply dismissing it.

"I think LIV did what the AFL did for the NFL years ago," Rolapp said. "Competition can make it better. Whenever you get competition, you end up figuring out what you do well and what you don't do well. And I think that's what LIV did, was expose some things that maybe the PGA Tour could do better."

He explained his point further: "In a lot of ways, I think LIV did the professional golf world a favor."

Speaking on Trey Wingo's podcast on April 16, Brian Rolapp gave a calm response as reports spread that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund might stop financially supporting the rebel league.

"I'm interested in doing whatever makes the PGA Tour better," Rolapp said. "Fans want the best players playing together. Having said that, I don't know what the circumstances are. Once there's clarity, we'll cross that bridge when we get there."

LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil quickly pushed back against the rumors this week and sent a letter to staff saying the season would continue as planned.

Golf was still being played in Mexico City this week, but questions about LIV's future were not going away, which made Rolapp's words stand out even more.

If LIV Golf Folds, the Hard Part Starts

PIF has backed LIV since it started in 2022. Along the way, it signed players like Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, and Jon Rahm from the PGA Tour with deals no one else could match.

Koepka is already back, and it cost him a $5 million charitable donation. He gave up possible equity worth up to $85 million over five years. Patrick Reed is set to return in August through a different path.

If LIV shuts down and the others want to come back, no one knows how that would work yet. Rolapp is not getting into that right now.

"I spend most of my time thinking about the PGA Tour and how we do these things better," he said. "The future is really bright for us."

Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav