PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp had one goal involving a multi-layered scheduling format for the 2028 season.
“This work was driven by a simple objective … to build the best version of the PGA Tour, something that could endure and outlive us all,” he said on June 23 at a news conference at the TPC River Highlands, the site of this week’s Travelers Championship.
That lofty goal with legacy at its core is what Rolapp and the Tour believes it has with its two-tiered scheduling platform that will have the game’s top players on a “Championship Series, with around two dozen events that will include The Players Championship and the four majors, and a “Challenger Series,” with at least 20 events for players to play their way into the upper tier.
Appearing with him at the event was Tiger Woods, the chairman of the PGA Tour’s Future Competitions Committee who was making his first public appearance since his arrest in March on DUI charges.
Woods spoke first at the press conference and introduced Rolapp.
“This work was never about one player or person,” Woods said. “It was about bringing together different perspectives, having honest, hard conversations and thinking boldly about what is best for the game we all love.”
So how bold are the changes?
They involve starting the Tour season a month later than in the past, perhaps ending with a match play event at a historic course never before visited by the Tour and enough opportunity and, most important to players, enough money.
What are the changes to the PGA Tour schedule?
The “Championship Series” will be around two dozen 72-hole tournaments with cuts to the low-65 players, plus ties, with purses of at least $20 million. Field sizes will average around 120 players, with 90 players retained off the previous year’s FedEx Cup points standings and 20 players promoted from the Challenger Series.
The tournaments will include The Players Championship and the four majors (Masters, U.S. Open, PGA Championship, British Open). Other eligibility categories will include past champions and tournament winners.
There will be no sponsor invitations, Monday qualifiers or alternates lists.
The series will begin in February and end in August. Rolapp said the Tour will consider markets in cities such as Chicago, Boston, Denver, New York, Philadelphia, San Fransico, Seattle and Washington D.C.
Rolapp said the 2028 schedule will be unveiled in the first quarter of 2027.
“The new PGA Tour will be a connected platform and deliver significant benefits across the board,” said Rolapp. “From emerging talent seeking opportunity to global superstars building legacy, every event serves a distinct purpose while contributing to one unified objective, to be the strongest, most compelling golf platform in the world.”
He said the format brings together the top players in the world in more tournaments, and without sponsor invitations or Monday qualifiers, rewards recent good performance on the golf course.
“One thing we consistently heard from fans and partners and even members of the PGA Tour … we need to get back to meritocracy,” he said. “I think this system delivers on that promise.”
The PGA Tour Challenger Series
The Challenger Series will be at least 20 events, with fields of 144 players and purses of at least $4 million. Players on the Championship Series will not be allowed to play in Challenger Series events.
Players can move to the Championship Series after their first two Challenger Series victories or move up by being among the top 20 players at the end of the season.
Rolapp said the events would be at current Tour venues and will have Monday qualifiers and sponsor invitations.
Seven of those events will be during off weeks for the PGA Tour Championship Series. Eligibility for the major championships will not be affected for players on the Challenger Series.
PGA Tour post-season may include match play
The Tour’s postseason will have a revamped but as yet unreleased points structure, with FedEx remaining a partner. There will be a match play event but it was unclear if that would be the season-ending Tour Championship. Rolapp also said that playoff events and the Tour Championship would be at venues “many of which the PGA Tour would play for the first time.”
The fall schedule will include a series of international “elevated” tournaments as part of the Tour’s alliance with the DP World Tour, for players from the PGA Tour Championship Series and international stars who are not PGA Tour members.
There will be a “Last Chance” domestic series of four to six events. That currently includes the RSM Classic at the Sea Island Resort.
There will continue to be a PGA Tour Qualifying School, the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour Americas.
“As far as other pathways … whether that’s the Korn Ferry Tour or PGA Tour Americas, I think we have more work to do on that,” he said. “But we remain committed to investing … to build a pipeline of the next generation of PGA Tour players. So there will be pathways to the Challenger Series.”
Rolapp also said the Tour needed to honor its past but be prepared to evolve.
“It’s our job to honor that tradition but not be overly bound by it,” he said. “I think the best sports and the best organizations in the world operate that way.”
Rory McIlroy, Lucas Glover react
Rory McIlroy, who last week criticized the concept of a second tier of events, issued a statement that supported the overall platform.
“Today’s announcement is a positive step for professional golf,” he said in his statement. “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.
Lucas Glover, chairman of the Players Advisory Committee, said there are still “nuances” to be solved.
“This is just the foundation, this is just the framework,” he told Golf Channel. “The challenge now is going forward. There are still a lot of questions. We have to take this thing to market, get the feedback, get the sponsors on board, the media on board, television on board.”
Rolapp confirmed as next commissioner
After Rolapp took questions on the new schedule, Joe Gorder, chairman of the PGA Tour Policy Board, announced that the board approved Rolapp to add the title of PGA Tour commissioner to his current title of CEO of the Tour. Rolapp began the job last year.
Jay Monahan will continue as commissioner through 2026, and Rolapp will formally take over both roles on Jan. 1, 2027.
“In Brian, we have a proven leader who has quickly earned the trust and confidence of our Boards and our membership,” Gorder said in a statement. “His vision, collaboration and leadership have strengthened our organization and earned the support of our Boards to assume the role of Commissioner.”
Rolapp, who was appointed CEO in June 2025 and began his tenure on July 28, 2025, will become the fifth Commissioner in PGA TOUR history, joining Jay Monahan (2017–2026), Tim Finchem (1994–2016), Deane Beman (1974–1994) and Joe Dey (1969–1974).
“Serving as the PGA Tour as commissioner has been one of the greatest honors of my professional life,” Monahan said at the news conference. “The PGA Tour has never been better positioned for the future. With Brian at helm I have no doubt our best days are ahead of us.”
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: PGA Tour two-tiered schedule, relegation system to begin in 2028
Reporting by Garry Smits, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Garry Smits, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union | USA TODAY Network
