Jay Monahan is leaving the PGA Tour next year after a decade that ends with a sport fractured by the Saudi riches of LIV Golf. He turns it over to top NFL executive Brian Rolapp in a new role as CEO that Rolapp sees as rife with commercial growth.

Rolapp, the chief media and business officer for the NFL and seen as a potential successor to a Commissioner Roger Goodell, was introduced Tuesday as CEO, a position that had never existed in the tour’s six decades of existence.

“Players are central to everything we do, and making sure they are supported and heard will be a top priority,” Rolapp said in an open letter. “At the same time, we are going to keep challenging ourselves to grow the game in new ways, reach new fans, and create a tour that reflects the future of sports and entertainment.”

Monahan announced last December the search for a CEO. Still unclear was his role until the announcement of Rolapp on Tuesday. Monahan said he will shift his day-to-day responsibilities to Rolapp and focus more on his position on the PGA Tour board, along with the commercial PGA Tour Enterprises board, through the end of his contract in 2026.

Rolapp was introduced two days after the U.S. Open, one of four times a year all the best players are together.

Monahan, who guided all of golf through the COVID-19 pandemic, was criticized for not taking a meeting with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia when it wanted to invest in golf with a team component.

He met with the players for an hour on Tuesday morning ahead of the Travelers Championship, offering broad views more geared toward what the tour has in its favor before identifying any solutions to patch the game back together.

“Everything that works in the football world may not work in the golf world,” Rolapp said. “When it comes to that situation particularly, I think the fans have been pretty clear. They want to see the best golfers competing against each other. I agree with that. When it comes to the situation with LIV, I think that’s a complex situation that’s probably something I should learn more about before I speak.

“But I will say my focus is on growing the tour, making it better, and really moving on from the position of strength that it has.”

College Baseball

Eddie King Jr. drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning that gave Louisville a 7-6 victory over Oregon State on Tuesday and knocked the Beavers out of the College World Series.

The Cardinals (42-23) avenged a 4-3 walk-off loss to Oregon State last Friday and advanced to the Bracket 2 final. They must beat Coastal Carolina today and again Thursday to reach the best-of-3 CWS finals.

Just like Oregon State (48-16-1) on Friday, Louisville squandered a late lead only to come back and win.

Jared Jones hit a go-ahead three-run homer before rain suspended play Monday night, freshman reliever Casan Evans pitched 4 1/3 shutout innings after play resumed Tuesday, and LSU advanced to its College World Series bracket final with a 9-5 victory over UCLA.

LSU was up 5-3 at the end of the third inning Monday night when the game was suspended following a 2-hour, 53-minute delay.

The Tigers (50-15) next play tonight against the winner of Tuesday night’s elimination game between Arkansas and the Bruins (48-17), which was still in progress when this edition went to press.

LSU, going for its second national championship in three years, needs one more win to reach the best-of-three finals starting Saturday.

Hockey

The San Jose Sharks’ mascot, S.J. Sharkie, will be one of five team mascots inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2025, the Mascot Hall of Fame Executive Committee announced.

Others are TORO from the Houston Texans, Blitz from the Seattle Seahawks, Fredbird of the St. Louis Cardinals and Sebastian the Ibis from the University of Miami. The five join a group of 33 mascots already enshrined in the Hall.

S.J. Sharkie was one of 28 nominees for induction, including the Stanford Tree. Per organizers, over 125,000 votes were cast by fans during a two-week voting period last month.

The instantly recognizable S.J. Sharkie made his debut with the NHL franchise in January 1992 and appears at every home game at SAP Center.

Only two other NHL mascots are Hall of Famers: Youppi! of the Montreal Canadiens and Tommy Hawk of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Olympics

A race between Olympic 100-meter champion Noah Lyles and Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill that was never formally announced but supposedly taking place this weekend was called off by Lyles for “personal reasons.”

This postponement followed months of trash talk between the two sports stars. Lyles made the announcement Tuesday during his chat at Cannes, adding that the showdown with Hill was going to take place in Times Square.

The 31-year-old Hill ran 10.15 seconds in a race last Friday in California.