PGA Tour sets 2028 overhaul with two series and promotion system

The PGA Tour will adopt a new competitive structure in 2028, splitting its schedule into two tracks and adding promotion and relegation. CEO Brian Rolapp said the changes are meant to sharpen competition, make the tour easier to follow and increase prize money at top events.

Rolapp announced the plan Tuesday before the Travelers Championship near Hartford, Connecticut. The PGA Tour said its boards approved a recommendation from the Future Competition Committee, and also approved Rolapp to succeed Jay Monahan as commissioner after Monahan retires at the end of the year. Rolapp will remain CEO.

The new format will replace the current main-tour structure with the PGA Tour Championship Series and the PGA Tour Challenger Series. The Championship Series will serve as the top tier, while the Challenger Series will provide a route for players trying to reach those events.

Rolapp said in a PGA Tour release that the model is based on merit, with clearer routes for players, higher stakes and more regular meetings among the top competitors. He said the tour will now work through remaining details before the 2028 launch.

The season is expected to include about 23 to 24 events, according to the PGA Tour plan described by CNBC. That count includes The Players Championship, the four major championships, season-ending tournaments and international team competitions such as the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup in years when they are played.

The tour expects the season to run roughly from February through August. Most tournaments will keep the familiar four-round, 18-holes-per-day format, with about half the field advancing after a 36-hole cut.

The overhaul also brings back playoff events using match play, in which players advance by winning head-to-head contests. That differs from standard stroke-play events, where the winner is determined by the lowest total score over the tournament.

Prize money will differ sharply between the two series. Championship Series events will carry minimum purses of $20 million and are planned for higher-profile locations and larger media markets, according to the tour. Challenger Series events will offer purses of at least $4 million across a minimum of 20 events at venues that have traditionally hosted PGA Tour tournaments.

Each series will have its own points system. Under the promotion and relegation structure, at least 90 players will retain Championship Series status after each season, while 20 Challenger Series players will move up and lower-performing players will move down.

Wyndham Clark, who won the U.S. Open on Sunday, backed the changes in a CNBC interview. He said the two-track system should add merit-based movement and make the PGA Tour easier for fans to follow, and said match play should be entertaining.

The changes arrive during a unsettled period for men’s professional golf. CNBC reported that LIV Golf, launched in 2022 with backing from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, faces questions after the fund said it would stop financing the league after the current season.

CNBC also reported that LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil is seeking new capital, with boutique investment bank Ducera Partners retained to help solicit investors. CNBC previously reported that LIV is seeking $250 million to $350 million as it works on its own revised schedule and format with more emphasis on team franchises.

The PGA Tour’s Future Competition Committee includes six player representatives and three business advisers. Tiger Woods chairs the group, which also includes Patrick Cantlay, Maverick McNealy, Keith Mitchell, Adam Scott, Camilo Villegas, Joe Gorder, John Henry and Theo Epstein.

Woods said at the event that the committee’s work brought together different views and difficult discussions about what would best serve golf. It was his first public appearance since his DUI arrest in March, according to CNBC.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.