The PGA Tour wants more evening daylight. CEO Brian Rolapp sent a letter to President Donald Trump on Oct. 1 voicing the Tour’s support for the Sunshine Protection Act, the bill that would make daylight saving time permanent nationwide.
Trump made the letter public Saturday on Truth Social. He posted it as part of a push to move the bill through the Senate, where Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton has blocked it.
The letter opens with a nod to the Presidents Cup. Trump attended the final round at Medinah Country Club, where the U.S. beat the Internationals 17-13.
#NEW U.S. President Donald Trump releases letter penned by PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp expressing “the Tour’s strong support for the Sunshine Protection Act” and why it would benefit the golf industry.
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) October 3, 2026
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“Having you in attendance for Team USA’s remarkable comeback made the day even more special,” Rolapp wrote. “I also wanted to put in writing what I expressed to you personally: the Tour’s strong support for the Sunshine Protection Act.”
Rolapp’s main pitch centers on everyday golfers. “Most golfers do not play full-time and fit the game into the margins of a busy life: reps on the range after work, taking their kids to the course after school, or trying to fit in nine holes before dark,” he wrote. “That window is already tight, but when the clocks fall back, it closes entirely.”
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He added that “an extra hour of evening light sounds simple, but for everyday Americans, it can be the difference between getting on the course and not.”
Rolapp also brought numbers. He cited National Golf Course Owners Association estimates that permanent DST would generate 23 million additional rounds per year and $1 billion annually in new direct revenue for the golf industry. That works out to an average of $250,000 per facility.
The NGCOA also found that afternoon and evening tee times generate roughly 40 percent more revenue than morning play, according to the letter. Rolapp called permanent DST “a direct economic lift” for the more than one million Americans employed across the golf economy.
The Tour itself would benefit too. “At the PGA Tour, usable afternoon daylight in the fall and winter would give our broadcast partners flexibility to extend live coverage of finishing holes, avoid awkward lighting situations in late rounds, and deliver a better overall product for the millions of fans who tune in each week,” Rolapp wrote.
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He closed by pointing to health benefits and thanking Trump directly. “Few people have done more to grow the game of golf than you have, Mr. President, and we are grateful for your leadership on this issue,” Rolapp wrote. “On behalf of the entire PGA Tour, we are proud to support the Sunshine Protection Act.”
Trump leaned on the Tour in his own post. “The PGA TOUR, as an example, needs more Daylight in the afternoon in order to finish their Tournaments,” he wrote. “Almost everybody wants ‘The Sunshine Protection Act’ to pass, except for Tom Cotton.”
The House passed the bill 308-117 in July. Cotton has argued that permanent daylight saving time would “push winter sunrises to an absurdly late hour, depriving Americans of morning sunshine that’s essential for our safety and well-being.”
The bill still needs Senate approval before it can reach Trump’s desk. Clocks are scheduled to fall back on Nov. 1.
