PGA Tour Announces Major Changes Starting In 2028.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 20: Brian Rolapp, Chief Executive Officer of the PGA TOUR, speaks to the media prior to the TOUR Championship 2025 at East Lake Golf Club on August 20, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

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The PGA Tour under the recommendation of the Future Competition Committee, will look much different starting in 2028.

The new model used by the PGA Tour will be a two-tiered structure where players will move between the PGA Tour Championship Series and the PGA Tour Challenger Series. The two series will have a promotion and relegation structure based on performance.

“From day one, 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 PGA TOUR CEO Brian Rolapp. “The result is a new competitive model grounded in meritocracy, with clearer pathways, higher stakes and more consistency when the best players compete together.”

PGA Tour’s CEO Brian Rolapps Letter to Fans:

PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp penned a letter to fans about the new structure coming up in 2028. Below is the entirety of the letter.

Written by Brian Rolapp

Today marks a pivotal moment for the PGA TOUR as we move forward with a new competitive system, starting in the 2028 season.

Throughout this process, we have listened closely to players, partners and our fans. You told us you wanted to see the best players in the world competing against one another more often. You wanted clearer stakes as the season unfolds. And you wanted a more dramatic finish to the season that rewards excellence and makes every tournament matter.

This new model is our response.

One TOUR. Two compelling series of events, played at the most worthy courses, for the highest stakes, culminating in a true postseason that crowns the best golfer in the world.

Every event serves a distinct purpose, contributing to one unified objective—to be the strongest, most compelling golf platform in the world, for the benefit of our fans, partners and players.

While our competitive model is evolving, we remain committed to making a positive impact. Since 1968, the PGA TOUR has been guided by the belief that golf can be a force for good. As the PGA TOUR grows, so will our ability to support the communities where we play.

Today's announcement represents meaningful progress, but our work is far from finished. We will continue refining elements of the model and sharing public updates as we move toward implementation.

Thank you for your passion for the PGA TOUR and for the game of golf. Your feedback helped shape this work, and we will continue listening as we build the strongest, most competitive golf platform in the world.

PGA Tour Championship Series

The Championship Series is meant to create a consistent playing schedule for the best players in the world. Under this model, the PGA Tour has announced that they have already lined up 10 of the initial events and expect about 15 events in total. All with prize purses of at least $20 million. Once the four majors, the Players Championship, Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup and possible other events are scheduled, the premier players in the world will be playing 23-24 events for a season.

These events will feature a 120-player field and feature 36-hole cuts for the top-65 players and ties. The schedule is expected to run from February - August. Events will have no alternate lists and no sponsors exemptions.

The PGA Tour Championship Series will also see a change to the postseason portion of the tour’s season. These changes include bringing match-play back and moving the Tour Championship around to various prestigious golf courses, including many that the tour will play for the first time such as Pine Valley Golf Club in New Jersey, Cypress Point Club in California and Seminole Golf Club in Florida. According the the PGA Tour’s press release, many of these courses will be new to the PGA Tour schedule and allow fans to see a variety of new courses.

PGA Tour Challenger Series

The PGA Tour also announced that the Challenger Series will be played at the same time as the Championship Series. It will feature 144-player fields and will again have a 36-hole cut to the top 65 players and ties.

There will be some Challenger Series events played on off weeks for the Championship Series, there are currently approximately seven events of this nature scheduled so far. Players from the Championship Series will not be allowed to compete in these events.

There will be an independent points system for the Challenger Series. Points will not flow between the two-tiers. This is supposed to be more intuitive for fans and media, while keeping competitive outcomes and retention rates consistent.

The main factor for the implementation of the Challenger Series is that it has a clear path to the Championship Series. The top 90 finishers will be fully exempt for the Championship Series for the following season, while those who fail to retain membership may risk relegation to the Challenger Series.

The PGA Tour also announced that a minimum of 20 players from the Challenger Series will be promoted to the Championship Series for the following season. So there is a clear path to promotion for players who play well on the Challenger Series.

Challenger Series players will also have two ways for automatic promotion to the Championship Series - winning multiple Challenger Series events in a season or by winning a major championship.

Promotion and Relegation

Once the normal season concludes, there will be a series of events played in the fall, currently slated to be 4-6 events. Here Championship Series players will have the opportunity to improve their standing, or in some cases, retain their spot on the Championship Series and avoid relegation to the Challenger Series.

There will still be a traditional Q-School to provide access for players to get into the new “ecosystem” that the PGA Tour is establishing. Besides the Challenger Series, the PGA Tour is continuing to work on pathways for players in development.

“This model positions the PGA TOUR for the future,” Rolapp said. “Our focus now shifts to finalizing the details and preparing for implementation in 2028.”

Statement From Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods, who has been outside the country seeking treatment after a DUI arrest in March, returned in time to approve these major board changes.

"This work was bigger than any one player or person -- it was about designing the strongest possible version of the PGA Tour for the future generations of fans and players," Woods, chairman of the Future Competition Committee, said in a statement. "From the beginning, the committee's focus was on delivering a better experience for our fans, while creating a model that best sets up the tour, its players and its partners for long-term success and stability."