PGA Tour Close To Visa Sponsorship Deal For Tour Championship

PGA Tour boss Brian Rolapp pictured alongside a Visa sign — (Image credit: Getty Images)

The PGA Tour is reportedly closing in on a huge new sponsorship deal with Visa which would include it backing the new version of the Tour Championship.

With major changes coming in 2028, Brian Rolapp is busy getting the new PGA Tour into shape, which looks to include one of its biggest ever sponsorship deals.

The Sports Business Journal's Josh Carpenter reports that an annual figure "in the high eight figures" is on the table, which would also be up there with Visa's current deals with both the FIFA and the IOC.

Neither party is commenting on the proposed deal, but it will reportedly see Visa become an official marketing partner of the PGA Tour from 2027 before taking up sponsorship of the new matchplay Tour Championship from 2028 - along with naming rights for three events on the second-tier Challenger Series.

The PGA Tour's deal with FedEx ended this year after two decades of sponsorship as Rolapp goes in a different direction for the new season from 2028 and beyond.

Changing the format of the Tour Championship to a matchplay event over multiple courses is part of that, and the idea now is apparently to have multiple main sponsors for the season-ending tournament instead of just one title backer.

The new PGA Tour features new two tiers of events throughout the campaign - the Championship Series featuring the top 120 players and the Challenger Series running below it.

Getting sponsors for those events widely known to be second tier could prove tough, especially with 13 of the 20-event schedule set to run alongside Championship Series tournaments.

Brian Rolapp's first major deal with the @PGATour. Visa is coming aboard in a massive sponsorship that sources expect to be in the high eight figures annually. It'll get OMP status, be a sponsor of the new Tour Championship and 3 Challenger events. https://t.co/fKvPAfityiOctober 29, 2026

Rolling out package deals such as the proposed Visa one, with sponsors backing big events on the top tier along with multiple Challenger Series tournaments looks to a route the PGA Tour is looking at.

Having a big hitter liks Visa on board will be a big boost though, especially if the deal is as wide ranging as it's reported to be.

And if it's more of a 'presenting partner' deal with the Tour Championship similar to the flagship Players Championship, then there's still room for more sponsors to come on board in similar circumstances.

Regardless of the full details, it looks to be a big step in the right direction for the new PGA Tour, which aims to be a more streamlined version and having fewer sponsors signing bigger deals could help with that.

Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website. Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush.