CROMWELL, Conn. – The PGA Tour unveiled a new competitive structure on Tuesday that will begin in 2028 and feature a two-tiered system – a Championship Series for the game’s elite players and a Challenger Series that will be the primary pathway to the upper track.
The Championship Series will feature 23-24 events, including the four major championships, The Players Championship, the Presidents Cup or Ryder Cups and a reimagined playoff. According to a press release, the Tour has an initial set of 10 regular season Championship Series events, which are likely some combination of existing signature events and new events. The full 2028 schedule, which will run February through August, is expected to be announced early next year.
“The remaining events will either be filled by existing events or new markets under consideration such as Boston, Denver, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.,” the press release read.
The Tour policy boards approved the new competitive model on Monday, including a reimagined postseason that will involve some version of match play and a rotation of courses for the Tour Championship, which has been played at East Lake in Atlanta since 2004.
Championship Series events will feature 120-player fields with a 36-hole cut and $20 million purses, while the Challenger Series will include 20 events with 144-players fields with a 36-hole cut and minimum $4 million purses. The new model doesn’t include any midseason promotion opportunities to the Championship Series, like the current Tour system via the Aon points lists, but any players who wins multiple times on the Challenger Series in a single season would earn immediate status into Championship Series events.
“Over the last few years, golf has faced a period of uncertainty and division, which has not been in the best interests of the players, or the fans of the game,” Rory McIlroy said in a statement. “Today, we are putting the fans first, and I am excited about the future of our sport.”
The top 90 players on the season-long points list will retain their Championship Series status while a minimum of 20 players will be promoted from the Challenger Series each year. Players finishing outside the top 90 will face relegation to the Challenger Series or they can earn their status back to the top tier via a “last chance” series, which will include four to six events in the fall and offer limited access back to the top-tier events.
The two Tour series will have separate point lists and players who are eligible for Championship Series events will not be allowed to play Challenger Series events. Although one of the three stated goals of the Future Competition Committee is to deliver “a more structured and competitive experience for fans and partners,” the new model doesn’t include a requirement that players must play every Championship Series event.
“From Day 1, the focus of the Future Competition Committee has been to build the best version of the PGA Tour, and to do so in a way that reflects the voice of our players and the expectations of our fans,” said Tour CEO Brian Rolapp, who is scheduled to meet with the media at 10 a.m. on Tuesday at TPC River Highlands.
“The result is a new competitive model grounded in meritocracy, with clearer pathways, higher stakes and more consistency when the best players compete together. This model positions the PGA Tour for the future, and our focus now shifts to finalizing the details and preparing for implementation in 2028.”
The board also approved a limited international series in the fall for “top players.” That series will include a partnership with the DP World Tour and likely include events like the Australian Open, which announced a partnership with the Tour and the European circuit earlier this month.
Details will also be announced at a later date regarding the Korn Ferry Tour, PGA Tour Americas and Q-School, and their roles in the new system.