PGA Tour announces sweeping changes with promotion and relegation model from 2028

June 23 : The PGA Tour announced sweeping changes to its competitive structure on Tuesday, approving a two-tier system with promotion and relegation to take effect in 2028.

The elite-tier PGA Tour Championship Series will run from February to August and feature 23-24 events with $20-million purses, while the $4-million events on the Challenger Series will provide a path for players to earn their way to the top level.

"At its core, 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," PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp told a press conference in Cromwell, Connecticut, ahead of this week's Travelers Championship.

The Championship Series will include the four majors, Players Championship, season-ending events and team events such as the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup. It will feature 120 players, on average, and will be contested as 72-hole stroke play events with a 36-hole cut.

The new structure introduces true promotion and relegation, with a minimum of 90 players retained on the Championship Series and 20 promoted from the Challenger Series each season.

WOODS SAT ON COMMITTEE THAT RECOMMENDED CHANGES

Tiger Woods, making his first public appearance since his DUI charge in March, was part of the nine-member committee that recommended the changes and introduced Rolapp at the press conference.

"We have to look forward and beyond today and over the horizon to set up the PGA Tour and our sport for the future generations of players and fans," Woods said.

Rolapp said there were new markets under consideration for the events yet to be filled on the Championship Series, including Boston, Denver, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.

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