admin 
Tiger Woods of the US and Jay Monahan, Commissioner of the PGA TOUR, shake hands during a press conference with PGA TOUR CEO Brian Rolapp prior to the Travelers Championship 2026 at TPC River Highlands on June 23, 2026 in Cromwell, Connecticut. (AFP)
The PGA Tour on Tuesday unveiled a dramatic overhaul of professional golf in the United States that will see the circuit divided into two distinct structures.
Under the new system, which will be launched in 2028, the tour will comprise a lucrative PGA Tour Championship Series of around 23-24 events which will include the majors and international events such as the Ryder Cup.
A second tier of at least 20 events — the PGA Tour Challenger Series — will run alongside the Championship Series, offering golfers the chance to secure a pathway to the elite circuit.
A system of player promotion and relegation between the two tiers will also be introduced.
COMMITTEE CHAIRED BY WOODS
The shake-up is the result of a working group from the PGA Tour’s Future Competition Committee, chaired by Tiger Woods, which has been studying ways of revitalising golf.
“From day one, 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,” PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolapp said in a statement.
“The result is a new competitive model grounded in meritocracy, with clearer pathways, higher stakes and more consistency when the best players compete together.
“This model positions the PGA Tour for the future, and our focus now shifts to finalizing the details and preparing for implementation in 2028.”
A PURSE OF $20 MILLION
Each PGA Tour Championship Series event will boast a purse of at least $20 million with fields of 120 players, with a 36 hole cut to the top 65 and ties.
The series, which will run in a season stretching from February to August, will also feature a new-look postseason with the introduction of match play and a new-look Tour Championship played across a rotation of courses.
Leading players from the PGA Tour Championship Series will also be eligible for a limited series of “elevated international events” organised in conjunction with Europe’s DP World Tour, the PGA Tour said.
Challenger Series events will feature minimum purses of $4 million.
The PGA Tour said the top 90 finishers out of 130 players in the Championship Series will be exempt for the following season, while those finishing outside the top 90 could face relegation to the Challenger Series.
A minimum of 20 players from the Challenger Series will be promoted to the Championship Series the following season.
Related Story
