There are mixed views about The PLAYERS Championship being considered as the fifth major.

Brandel Chamblee believes the TPC Sawgrass event stands above the four majors and shouldn’t be ranked among them. Lee Westwood thinks they should take the PGA Championship International if they are planning to add another major. However, Phil Mickelson has an entirely different take in this regard.

Lefty tweeted, “I believe Puig is top 10 in the world as I believe Bryson Rahm and Jaoco are too. You can’t prohibit 4 of the top 10 and be considered a major. That’s just reality. The PGA Tour only owns a few events on Tour, The Players is one, but are slowly acquiring more.”

“If they wanted to build value for their own asset, allowing LIV players would greatly increase the interest, exposure, and commercial value. However, the egos of many of the members won’t allow for that to happen and that continues to hold them back from growing the value of the SSG investment.”

Turning The PLAYERS Championship into a major means that Brian Rolapp will need to permit Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, and Joaquin Niemann to participate in the event. Maybe even David Puig, if he qualifies for it. While Rolapp, Tiger Woods, & Co. may have pushed for the proposal, would they be willing to allow the LIV Golf pros to play at TPC Sawgrass?

That would require some level of collaboration between both the Tours. And considering what happened at the 2025 Procore Championship, Rolapp & Co. might not be open to the suggestion. Back then, they didn’t even allow DeChambeau to join the field at Silverado Resort to help him practice with the Team U.S. squad for the Ryder Cup.

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Notably, that’s not the only time Rolapp refused to connect with LIV Golf.

Will Brian Rolapp & Tiger Woods’ hesitance to connect with LIV Golf hinder their fifth major plans?

Collaborating with Phil Mickelson & LIV Golf has not been a part of Brian Rolapp’s plan right from the beginning. In fact, the PGA Tour CEO had clarified that soon after he had started the job.

During one of his initial statements, Rolapp had mentioned, “I have not spoken to anyone from the Public Investment Fund. I’ve been here for three weeks, so my focus has obviously been on the TOUR and focusing on the TOUR and learning and starting to develop a bit of a vision for the future.”

In the last few months, their goal has also been to retain talent from LIV Golf. They encouraged DeChambeau, Rahm, and Cameron Smith to return through the ‘Returning Member Program’. Rolapp & Co. also opened the doors for Patrick Reed to make a comeback. Considering their strategies, it seems that the PGA Tour is interested in competing rather than collaborating with LIV Golf.