New PGA Tour 2028 Structure: What's Actually New (And What's Unknown)?

The PGA Tour unveiled a new-look 2028 re-brand where two tours will run concurrently.

The top tier has the working title of the 'PGA Tour Championship Series', which will sit above the 'PGA Tour Challenger Series'.

Each tier will be completely separate with their own points lists and a set relegation/promotion system.

On the face of it, this is a huge change to the PGA Tour and an exciting one for fans. But when you look closely it appears there won't actually be too much difference - as the PGA Tour has been becoming more of a two-tier system anyway since the introduction of Signature Events.

Brian Rolapp even admitted it when speaking to media at the Travelers Championship.

"I think the best way to think about what we're doing here is that right now we have 47 events at the PGA Tour. We'll have 47 events going forward. That current model serves roughly 230 players. We'll serve that amount of players, the same," Rolapp said.

"We are just organized now in a more simple understanding competitively so our fans can understand it, our partners know what they're getting as far as value.

"So we think we've just organized the same tour into a much more interesting and competitive system."

So instead of wholesale changes, the 2028 PGA Tour will be a more simplified version that is easier for fans to understand. It doesn't exactly sound groundbreaking, but the signs are promising.

But what will actually be different, or exciting? I'd also be interesting to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.

What will be new about the regular season?

The key change in the regular season will be the introduction of cuts in every single event with fields made up of 120 players.

This essentially removes the current Signature Event model and will create more fairness.

Rolapp stressed meritocracy is key, and another way of delivering on that promise is by removing sponsor's exemptions for the Championship Series.

I have written countless times about how unfair Signature Events are, and sponsor's exemptions are a big part of that.

A player ranked outside of the world's top 100 has received multiple sponsor's exemptions this year, all the while Aaron Rai, who was ranked inside the world's top 50, had not been eligible for the big events prior to winning a Major.

Rai then won the PGA Championship, which proves to me that sponsor's exemptions for the big $20m events were simply not fair. Thankfully, the PGA Tour agrees.

Every regular season event will also carry purses of $20m, as Golf Monthly reported recently.

Another notable change could be in regards to the courses we see on the schedule.

"I think the goal is to go to prestigious courses that we're not there a lot, that fans will recognize as prestigious," Rolapp said.

"We're also not above building things on our own. I think one of the most successful tournaments in the world, you can't argue it, is The Players Championship. That was a course that was built for that event. That's certainly on the table.

"But I think there are plenty of great golf courses in this country that we'd like to get to."

No new tournaments, markets or venues have been announced as of yet, though. An ESPN report cites Pine Valley, Cypress Point and Seminole as potentials. Now that is exciting.

So aside from every event being a no-cut, 120-man field tournament and the potential for some new locations, there really isn't much else to report about the new regular season.

It has to be said that there are plenty of unknowns, with Rolapp giving multiple non-answers when fielding questions from reporters at TPC River Highlands today.

Postseason changes

The other big change comes with the 'postseason', with match play set to be introduced at the Tour Championship.

The season-ending event is also set to rotate away from Atlanta's East Lake Country Club, which has hosted every year since 2004.

It's fair to say the PGA Tour is still yet to get its Tour Championship right and it remains to be seen how match play goes down. It certainly sounds promising.

The PGA Tour also says it wants to continue working with the DP World Tour by partnering on "prominent national opens" in the fall.

The PGA Tour has already announced its involvement with the Australian Open, but it remains to be seen which other national opens it partners with. The Irish Open, French Open and Spanish Open are all currently held on the DP World Tour in the fall.

There is also set to be a 4-6 event 'last chance' fall series, which to me is just a re-brand of the current FedEx Cup Fall - which is by far the PGA Tour's weakest stretch.

Players will have the chance to secure their status on the top-tier Championship Series, which sounds similar to how players can currently earn their status for the PGA Tour in these postseason tournaments.

Unknowns from the PGA Tour's new 2028 structure...

When Rolapp announced sweeping changes in March, that was step one. This is step two, and his third press conference will come in August at the Tour Championship.

He promised he will announce more about the Playoffs then, and he will also surely announce more details for the entire structure at that time, too.

Full eligibility criteria will be known by the start of the 2027 season to ensure PGA Tour players know exactly what it will take to qualify for both the Championship and Challenger Series in 2028.

There are plenty of unknowns as things stand, including...

The DP World Tour

Eligibility criteria remains unknown, and a big part of that will involve how the PGA and DP World Tours continue their partnership.

It's fair to say the PGA Tour is getting the better part of the Strategic Alliance deal, with the DP World Tour significantly weaker than its US counterpart from February to August, barring the co-sanctioned Scottish Open.

As things stand, the circuits run co-sanctioned tournaments together and also have a formal pathway where ten DP World Tour players earn PGA Tour cards each season.

If this continues, will the DP World Tour players all earn cards for the top tier?

Or could it be 5 to the Championship Series and five to the Challenger? It remains to be seen, like many other things.

Tournaments

We can almost certainly assume the current Signature Events will continue on the Championship Series.

There are eight Signature Events as things stand, nine if you add in The Sentry, which will now be played at Torrey Pines, so that leaves just six more as there will be 15 regular events, four Majors, The Players Championship, the Playoffs and either the Ryder or Presidents Cup on the proposed 2028 schedule.

Which six those events be is going to be very interesting.

There may well be new tournaments in that number, too, with the Tour seeking to go to new, bigger markets in the US.

Can players play down?

As in, can a Championship Series player go and play a tournament they like on the Challenger Series? At the moment it's a firm 'no', but I can see a scenario where players are allowed one tournament per year where they're allowed to play in an event that's special to them, like one in their hometown or one they've previously won.

"I think we talked a lot about that. Again, I think it's important to zoom out and look at what we're trying to accomplish. We're trying to build the best competitive model we can for our members and for fans and ultimately for our partners," Rolapp said.

"By definition, we're not going to fulfill every preference of every stakeholder. I think that's impossible. But I think what we can do is build something bigger than ourselves, and that's one of the trade-offs I think we'd have to consider.

"But we believe that having this Championship Series and delivering to fans the best golfers week in and week out is a goal worth pursuing, and that's the larger ideal. So we work through it."

LIV Golfers

Where could Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and other LIV players fit in if they wish to return or the circuit folds? Rolapp did not have much to say.

"I read what you read on LIV. I'm not sure what the future of that is or those players," he said.

"They're under contract, and until that's no longer the case, I don't think we need to overly worry about it. We're focused on the PGA Tour."

There are likely many more unknowns at this stage. Rolapp's address at the Tour Championship will reveal much more - stay tuned.