It’s official: Major change is coming to the PGA Tour schedule, and the new-look system could completely overhaul the sport of men’s professional golf.
The PGA Tour announced sweeping schedule changes, as well as a new championship format, changes that will go into effect for the 2028 season. The most important aspect of the new competitive structure is the PGA Tour will debut what it is calling a “two-series model,” something the Tour says is “built upon a foundation of meritocracy, with players moving between the two series — The PGA Tour Championship Series and the PGA Tour Challenger Series — through a formalized structure of promotion and relegation.
As part of the changes, the Tour will also debut a new Tour Championship with match play that will rotate among various host courses.
PGA Tour Schedule Changes: What to Know About Championship Series
As expected, the Tour is embracing the so-called two-track system with the best players set to compete on the Championship Series.
What that entails:
— A schedule running from February to August, including 23-24 events
— Player fields of 120 with 36-hole cuts (top 65 and ties)
— Minimum $20 million purse
That group of 23 or 24 events includes The Players Championship, the majors and international team events (Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup), the Tour announced.
Per the release, the Tour has already lined up 10 of the expected 15 regular-season events. Among the new wrinkles is that new markets are in the running for these events, including Boston, Denver, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.
PGA Tour Schedule Changes: What to Know About Challenger Series
The second track, the Challenger Series, is designed for “emerging talent alongside players fighting to return to the top level,” the Tour announced.
The Challenger Series is set to include:
— Minimum of 20 events, running concurrently with the Championship Series
— Average fields of 144 players, with 36-hole cuts
— Minimum purse of $4 million
To put that purse in some perspective, the 2025 John Deere Classic had an $8.4 million purse with just over $1.5 million going to the winner last summer.
As far as relegation goes, the top 90 on the Championship Series will retain membership for the following season, and “at least” the top 20 on the Challenger Series will be promoted to the Championship Series the next year. Players can also earn in-season promotions by winning multiple Challenger Series events in a season.
PGA Tour Schedule Changes: What to Know About Playoffs
The playoffs are also getting an overdue refresh. Details were limited, but according to the official release, the new postseason will include “the introduction of match play, with a new-look Tour Championship contested across a rotation of prestigious courses — many of which the PGA Tour would play for the first time.
PGA Tour Schedule: These Major Changes Coming in 2028