The PGA Tour approved its most significant competitive overhaul in decades on Monday. CEO Brian Rolapp unveiled the details Tuesday at the Travelers Championship. Here is what is changing.
What is the new structure?
Starting in 2028, the tour will operate two concurrent series: the PGA Tour Championship Series and the PGA Tour Challenger Series. The Championship Series replaces the current signature/elevated events model. The Challenger Series is the pathway to the Championship Series.
What does the Championship Series look like?
The Championship Series will run approximately February to August, featuring 23 to 24 events with 120-player fields, 36-hole cuts, and a minimum $20 million purse per event. There is no alternate list for Championship Series events. If players choose not to compete, fields will play short that week. Sponsor exemptions are eliminated.
What about the Challenger Series?
The Challenger Series will feature 20 events with purses of $4 million. Some Challenger Series events will be played opposite Championship Series tournaments and are expected to air on Golf Channel. Others will be standalone events.
Which tournaments are confirmed for the Championship Series?
The tour has already identified 10 of its 15 Championship Series events. The current eight signature events, including the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational, RBC Heritage, Cadillac Championship, Truist Championship, Memorial Tournament and Travelers Championship, are expected to remain. The tour is targeting larger markets including Boston, Denver, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington D.C. to fill out the remaining spots on the schedule.
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How does promotion and relegation work?
Each season, 90 players are retained on the Championship Series based on their points finish. Twenty players are promoted from the Challenger Series. Finish 91st or worse and you are relegated. A player can also earn immediate promotion mid-season with two wins on the Challenger Series.
What happens to the postseason?
The FedEx Cup Playoffs as currently constructed will disappear. The new postseason will introduce match play, with a new look Tour Championship contested across a rotation of prestigious courses. Per ESPN, the Tour Championship will rotate to courses the tour has never played, with Pine Valley Golf Club in New Jersey, Cypress Point Club in California and Seminole Golf Club in Florida among the venues being considered.
What happens in the fall for top players?
Once the Championship Series wraps, a limited series of elevated international events will feature top players in partnership with the DP World Tour. The events will be co-sanctioned under the existing Strategic Alliance between the two tours. Specific details including the number of events and host markets have not been finalized.
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Is there a safety net for relegated players?
Relegated players are not sent straight to the Challenger Series. They get one shot at a fall series of four to six events. Fields will include players facing relegation, Challenger Series players, and a limited number of spots for top finishers from the Championship Series. Top finishers earn their way back into the Championship Series. Miss it and you compete in the Challenger Series the following year.
Will DP World Tour players have access to the Championship Series?
Yes. DP World Tour players will have reserved qualifying spots in the Championship Series. The exact number of spots has not been finalized.
Who drove this process?
Tiger Woods chaired the nine-member Future Competition Committee, formed in August 2025. Player representatives included Patrick Cantlay, Maverick McNealy, Keith Mitchell, Adam Scott and Camilo Villegas, plus business advisors Joe Gorder, John Henry and Theo Epstein. PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp led the process operationally.
What did players say?
Rory McIlroy called it “a positive step for professional golf” and said the structure “will serve both players and fans well into the future.” Woods said on social media the changes will “build the best version of the PGA Tour for future generations of players and fans.”
What about the Korn Ferry Tour?
For 2027, the Korn Ferry Tour is expected to remain largely unchanged. There could be modifications beginning in 2028, but current discussions indicate the tour would like to maintain a structure similar to the existing Korn Ferry Tour model. Q-School will continue to exist.
When does all of this take effect?
Eligibility criteria for the 2028 Championship Series will be determined prior to the start of the 2027 PGA Tour season, so players know what they are playing for. Many specifics, including the full schedule and match play specifics, are still being finalized ahead of the 2027 season.
