PGA Tour's Future Is Two-Tier
PGA Tour Approves Sweeping 2028 Two-Tier Schedule with Promotion and Relegation
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Key Points
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Championship Series events will have no sponsor invitations or alternate lists and no Monday qualifiers, with fields of about 120 players across 72-hole events that include a 36-hole cut to the top 65 and ties; the top events will largely be those like The Players Championship, majors, Presidents Cup, and Ryder Cup.
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The Challenger Series is explicitly the primary pathway to the Championship Series, featuring roughly 144 players with purses of at least $4 million; elevation to the Championship Series can occur via in-season performance with two victories.
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Each tier will maintain its own points standings, and eligibility for the Championship Series will be governed by the top players in those standings (with a promotion/relegation framework); midseason promotions require wins rather than arbitrary crossovers.
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The plan contemplates potential new markets for 2028, with consideration given to cities such as Boston, Denver, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., as part of the broader expansion and scheduling strategy.
The PGA Tour has approved the most sweeping overhaul in its 58-year history, splitting professional golf into two concurrent tiers starting in 2028. Reuters reports the new model creates a Championship Series and a Challenger Series, each running simultaneously with separate fields, purses, and points standings.
The Championship Series will feature roughly 120 players competing in about 23–24 events with a minimum $20 million purse per event. The Challenger Series will serve as the primary path to the top tier, with around 144 players and purses of at least $4 million. Tiger Woods, who chairs the Future Competition Committee that designed the plan, called it a system where "the best play the best, every single week, without the confusion of shifting eligibility."
Championship Series Locks Out Sponsor Picks and Monday Qualifiers
The Championship Series is built around pure merit. NBC Sports reports there will be zero sponsor invitations, no alternate lists, and no Monday qualifiers for shielded events. Every player in the field will have earned their spot through performance. Events run 72 holes with a 36-hole cut to the top 65 and ties.
Core events in the top tier will include THE PLAYERS Championship, the four major championships, and international team events like the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup. Dallas Morning News reports the season will run roughly February through August, a shorter calendar designed to create scarcity and keep the competition focused. Fewer weeks means each event carries more weight.
Win Twice in the Challenger Series and Move Up Immediately
The Challenger Series is not a consolation bracket — it is the engine of the whole system. Score Golf reports it is explicitly designed as the primary pathway to the Championship Series. Promotion is tied directly to performance, not seniority or exemption categories.
The key mechanism is a "two-win" rule. A player who wins twice in the Challenger Series during a single season earns an immediate promotion to the Championship Series for the rest of that year and all of the following season. Midseason crossovers are otherwise not allowed unless triggered by wins. Each tier keeps its own separate points standings to govern eligibility.
Tiger Woods and the LIV Rivalry Behind the Restructuring
The 2028 plan is widely seen as the Tour's answer to the LIV Golf disruption. Reuters notes the reform borrows the promotion-and-relegation concept from European football to create meaningful stakes at the bottom of the leaderboard every Sunday. Commissioner Jay Monahan called the new schedule "leaner, faster, and more consequential."
Woods chairs the Future Competition Committee that designed the proposal. The Policy Board voted unanimously to approve it. Critics argue the removal of Monday qualifiers and sponsor exemptions eliminates the "Cinderella story" path for non-members. Supporters counter that it ends the "old boys' club" dynamic where players were gifted spots in $20 million events.
New Cities Targeted as Tour Eyes 2028 Market Expansion
The 2028 plan is not just about restructuring existing stops. Dallas Morning News reports the Tour is targeting several major American markets that currently have no PGA Tour presence. Cities under consideration include Boston, Denver, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.
Final decisions on which specific tournaments land in each tier have not been made. Legacy events like The Memorial and Bay Hill still need to be assigned. Score Golf reports that details on DP World Tour player integration into the Challenger Series also remain unresolved. The Tour expects to finalize the full tournament alignment well before the 2028 launch.
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