The letter, dated 1 October 2026, was sent by PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolapp. He argued that more afternoon light would open the game to the people the sport most needs: amateurs with jobs and school runs, not the professionals.
“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,” Rolapp wrote.
The 23 million figure, which Rolapp attributed to the National Golf Course Owners Association, would translate into roughly $1 billion in additional direct annual revenue for the US golf industry. Afternoon and evening tee times generate about 40% more revenue than morning rounds, according to the letter.
Trump posts a senator’s phone number
Trump used the letter on Saturday as ammunition in a public row with Senator Tom Cotton, the Arkansas Republican who has blocked the Sunshine Protection Act in the Senate. On Truth Social he posted Cotton’s mobile phone number and urged Arkansans to call him.
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“The PGA TOUR, as an example, needs more Daylight in the afternoon in order to finish their Tournaments,” Trump wrote. “Likewise, regular Golfers, Tennis Players, hunters, and, perhaps most importantly, Farmers who want more Daylight to play or work.”
The bill cleared the House on 14 July 2026 by 308 votes to 117, but has sat untouched in the Senate since. Cotton has refused to let it advance, pointing to past American experiments with permanent daylight saving time that were quickly reversed.
“No one likes changing the clock, me included, but Congress has enacted permanent Daylight Savings Time multiple times before and repealed it each time once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter,” Cotton said.
A professional problem, too
The letter is not only about weekend players. The Korn Ferry Tour’s Astara Golf Championship in February 2026 had to be suspended at 6:05pm local time because of darkness, with seven players forced to return the following morning to finish their rounds. Rolapp argued that extra afternoon daylight through autumn and winter would also help broadcast partners carry live coverage of finishing holes.
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Clocks across most of the United States are set to go back on 1 November 2026.
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