The PGA Tour has revealed its planned changes to its competitive model, schedule and playoffs, changes that will be more substantial than any in the Tour's half-century-long history.
Most notably, the Tour will now have two different competitive tracks for players, the Championship and Challenger series. The Tour's season will also end in a new playoff format, distinctive from the current Tour Championship. These changes will begin with the 2028 season.
"At its core, this work was driven by a simple objective: To build the best version of the PGA Tour, something that could endure and outlive us all," PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said in announcing the new framework. "So where did we land? 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."
The new format was developed by the tour's Future Competition Committee, a nine-member organization chaired by Tiger Woods that includes five players — Patrick Cantlay, Maverick McNealy, Keith Mitchell, Adam Scott, Camilo Villegas and Woods, as well as executives Joe Gorder, John Henry and Theo Epstein. The Future Competition Committee, formed in August 2025, sought to improve the consistency and quality of fields across the regular season, create a clear system for promotion/relegation, and develop a more competitive experience, with meritocracy as a central goal.
The new format will include two different series of events, running concurrently. The PGA Tour Championship will feature the tour's best players, competing in 23 to 24 events, with 36-hole cuts and purses of $20 million per event. Each Championship series event will include roughly 120 players, although players will not be required to play a specific number of events.
Most notably, the Tour will now have two different competitive tracks for players, the Championship and Challenger series. The Tour's season will also end in a new playoff format, distinctive from the current Tour Championship. These changes will begin with the 2028 season.
"At its core, this work was driven by a simple objective: To build the best version of the PGA Tour, something that could endure and outlive us all," PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said in announcing the new framework. "So where did we land? 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."
The new format was developed by the tour's Future Competition Committee, a nine-member organization chaired by Tiger Woods that includes five players — Patrick Cantlay, Maverick McNealy, Keith Mitchell, Adam Scott, Camilo Villegas and Woods, as well as executives Joe Gorder, John Henry and Theo Epstein. The Future Competition Committee, formed in August 2025, sought to improve the consistency and quality of fields across the regular season, create a clear system for promotion/relegation, and develop a more competitive experience, with meritocracy as a central goal.
The new format will include two different series of events, running concurrently. The PGA Tour Championship will feature the tour's best players, competing in 23 to 24 events, with 36-hole cuts and purses of $20 million per event. Each Championship series event will include roughly 120 players, although players will not be required to play a specific number of events.
1 month ago