PGA Tour to adopt two-series format with promotion-relegation system starting 2028

The PGA Tour said it will overhaul its competition format beginning in 2028, creating two parallel circuits – the PGA Tour Championship Series and the PGA Tour Challenger Series – and a promotion-relegation system that moves players between them. Both circuits will host more than 20 tournaments, but purse sizes and eligibility rules will differ.

CEO Brian Rolapp explained that the new model is intended to be merit-based, offering clearer pathways for players and higher stakes when top competitors face each other. The Championship Series will run from February to August and will include existing signature events as well as potential new tournaments in markets such as Boston, Denver, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.

The season-ending Tour Championship will shift from its long-standing venue at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta to a rotating schedule of elite courses, and will adopt a two-week format that begins with a group stage and ends with a match-play bracket. The change responds to long-standing fan interest in match play for the playoffs.

Players on the Championship Series will be eligible for a new set of international events, including national opens like the Australian Open, under the PGA Tour’s alliance with the DP World Tour. These events will not affect the points race for the following season but will expand exposure to global audiences.

Promotion and relegation will be determined by season-end points: the top 90 players on the Championship Series list retain their status, while the top 20 from the Challenger Series are promoted. Approximately ten additional Championship spots will be filled through tournament wins, medical extensions, career milestones and a new “last chance” series that replaces the FedEx Fall schedule. The Challenger Series will run on off-weeks of the Championship Series and will have a separate points system, with bonus points for events played during those weeks and for major championships.

Qualifying School (Q-School) will continue to provide entry to the Challenger Series, occurring before the last-chance series and offering another developmental pathway for professional golfers.

"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," Rolapp said.

"Today's announcement is a positive step for professional golf. As more details emerge, it is encouraging to see the PGA Tour reaffirming the importance of meritocracy and creating a structure that will serve both players and fans well into the future," Rory McIlroy said.