The PGA Tour’s Policy Board has approved a sweeping overhaul of its exemption and membership categories, as well as a new points system and a qualifying structure for its two-tier competitive framework that begins in 2028.
The measures approved by the Policy Board on Monday and set to be announced by the tour on Tuesday, establish eligibility standards for the Championship Series, reserved for the tour’s top players, and a Challenger Series that will be conducted concurrently with significantly smaller purses but offering a chance for promotion to the Championship Series of 20 tournaments (including the Players and the four majors). The 2027 season will be the last conducted with the current FedEx Cup system and playoffs, with results determining who will compete in the 2028 Championship Series offering $20 million purses.
“From the beginning, we set out to preserve the meritocracy that makes our sport unique by creating a system where performance dictates opportunity," PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said in a statement. “Through new eligibility criteria and supporting pathways into the PGA Tour, the new competitive model is designed to reward excellence and ensure there is always a clear path for top performers at every stage of their career. For fans, this means a clear understanding of what is at stake during each PGA Tour competition, whether that is at an event or across a season.”
While clarity might be one of the benefits of the proposed new competitive structure, eligibility for the respective series will require a rigorous process of elimination to get there during a 2027 transition season. (See below for a full list of all criteria for both the Championship and Challenger Series.)
To help make sense of the announcement, here are seven items that constitute the most important developments in the tour’s latest round of measures:
How will players qualify for the Championship Series in 2028?
Off the top, players with tournament-winner exemptions earned through the end of 2026 will retain them for their full terms, including five-year exemptions for this year’s major champions. Winners of the Players, majors and signature events in 2027 are exempt through 2029, while full field winners in ’27 are granted 2028 membership. Filling out the 120-player Championship membership will be the top 70 in the final FedEx Cup standings and top 95 in the FedEx Cup Fall standings. Only the top 10 on the 2027 Korn Ferry Tour points list graduate to the Championship Series. The top player PGA Tour University player also earns a spot.
Who makes up the 144-player fields starting out on the Challenger Series?
Well, to be honest, figure on quite a few unhappy guys who had a chance to play for a lot more money instead of the purses of $4 million to $5 million that this lower tier will offer. The 2027 transition year will be a gut punch for players ranked 96th to 175th in the FedEx Cup Fall standings as well as for FedEx Cup Fall winners. Winners of opposite-field events also start on this tier. The Korn Ferry Tour provides 30 players ranked 11-40 from the 2027 KFT points list. Also exempt here are PGA Tour University players ranked 2-5, any players accepting membership via the PGA Tour Accelerated program and the points leader from the 2027 PGA Tour Americas season. Further spots will be accorded to the top five players from the tour’s qualifying tournament, two open qualifiers in events opposite Championship Series tournaments, players with medical extensions and two designated exemptions.
How will relegation and promotion work?
The bottom 20 players on the Championship Series and the top 20 from the Challenger Series trade places the following year. Two wins on the Challenger Series results in immediate promotion to the Championship Series (the only mid-season promotion outlet outside of winning a major). Meanwhile, the top 90 players on the Championship Series stay put and players who finish 21-90 in points on the Challenger Series likewise earn another season on that tier. Winners on the Championship Series earn a two-year exemption plus long-term Challenger Series exemptions.
What’s the biggest surprise?
That players who have earned enough points for tour cards via the PGA Tour Accelerated program will only be granted status on the Challenger Series and not the Championship Series. Honorable mention for the Korn Ferry Tour being a direct feeder only to the Challenger Tour starting in 2029.
PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp
Jonathan Bachman
How will the new points structure work?
Each series will use the same points distribution starting with 300 points for the winner. Points distribution will be uniform in regular Championship Series events, the Players and the majors as opposed to the weighted structure of the current FedEx Cup system. The new model features a “flatter” curve with only the top 10 finishers earning 100 points or more. No points are awarded to players missing the cut of top 65 and ties. Non-member players are not eligible to earn points but would earn membership on the Championship Series for winning a major. Points would only begin to accrue after that win.
What happens to the fall schedule?
There is something called the “Last Chance Series” in the works—what you might call the Hail Mary provision. The tour plans to offer a fall schedule of at least four events and is dangling three spots on the Championship Series. Players are required to compete in every event to earn a Championship Series Card. The following players are eligible to participate in the series: relegated players from the just-completed season: Nos. 21-90 from the PGA Tour Challenger Series points list; 20 players promoted from the Korn Ferry Tour; Nos. 2-5 in the PGA Tour University Ranking; top five finishers from Q-School immediately preceding the series.
What happens to the current promotion of the top 10 players from the DP World Tour?
They’re working on it, given the extension of the strategic alliance between the two tours. That’s among a handful of decisions still pending and likely resolved at the next policy board meeting on Nov. 16.
More From Golf Digest
PGA Tour Championship Series Membership Categories
The PGA Tour Championship Series will be made up of eligible players based on the following membership categories. These players will be eligible to compete in all PGA Tour Championship Series events (note: events such as THE PLAYERS and majors may maintain eligibility criteria specific to their respective events). There will be no alternate list and field sizes will vary based on the number of players committed. The membership criteria include:
- Retained Players – Top 90 players who retain PGA Tour Championship Series membership.
- Promoted Players – Top 20 players who are promoted from the PGA Tour Challenger Series.
- Two-Time Winners – Players who win twice during the PGA Tour Challenger Series season.
- Two-Year Winner Exemptions – Winners of PGA Tour Championship Series events, inclusive of THE PLAYERS and majors, receive PGA Tour Championship Series membership for the current season and the following two seasons. Winner exemptions do not extend beyond two years for multiple wins in a season.
- Medical Extensions – Medical Extensions will be granted on a limited basis for injury or conditions that materially prevent competition, as determined by an outside review committee of independent medical experts.
- Career Milestone Exemptions – Players with exceptional PGA Tour careers – currently recognized through the Career Money List – will be eligible to use a one-time exemption on the PGA Tour Championship Series in 2029 and beyond. In order to do so, (1) the player must hold PGA Tour Championship Series membership the season prior and (2) the exemption must be used in the year immediately following loss of PGA Tour Championship Series membership. Career Milestone Exemptions for 2028 are listed below in transition-year eligibility.
- Pathways – Future stars of the PGA Tour Championship Series will be captured through the Tour’s Pathways, including PGA Tour University and a “last chance” series.
- o The No. 1 player from PGA Tour University following that season’s NCAA Championship will be eligible for the PGA Tour Championship Series that season and the following season.
- o Three cards will be available via a “last chance” series.
PGA Tour Challenger Series Eligibility
The PGA Tour Challenger Series will feature fields of 144 players, with the ability to reduce when necessary (e.g. daylight), and with an alternate list. The membership criteria include:
- PGA Tour Championship Series Relegated – Players relegated from the PGA Tour Championship Series in the previous season.
- PGA Tour Challenger Series Retained – Nos. 21-90 on the previous season’s PGA Tour Challenger Series Points List.
- 20 Players Promoted from Korn Ferry Tour
- o The top 20 finishers from the previous season’s Korn Ferry Tour Points List.
- Tournament Winners Exemptions
- o Winners of PGA Tour Challenger Series events receive PGA Tour Challenger Series membership for the current season and the following season. Winner exemptions do not extend beyond one year for multiple wins in a season.
- o In addition to their two-year exemption on the PGA Tour Championship Series, winners of PGA Tour Championship Series events, inclusive of THE PLAYERS and majors, in the previous four years are exempt on the PGA Tour Challenger Series.
- o Players who win multiple PGA Tour Championship Series events in the same season will have their winner's exemption on the PGA Tour Challenger Series extended for each additional win, up to a maximum of five seasons. Exemptions for multiple wins on the PGA Tour Challenger Series do not extend.
- PGA Tour University
- o 2-5 in the PGA Tour University Ranking earn PGA Tour Challenger Series membership following the conclusion of the NCAA Championship through the following season.
- o Players who achieve and accept PGA Tour University Accelerated earn PGA Tour Challenger Series membership and can join at the start of a future season.
- Q-School
- o The top five finishers from the previous season’s PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament (Q-School).
- Open Qualifying
- o The top two finishers at Open Qualifying for PGA Tour Challenger Series events played the same week as PGA Tour Championship Series events.
- o There is no Open Qualifying for standalone PGA Tour Challenger Series events.
- Designated Exemptions
- o Up to two designated exemptions.
- Medical Extensions
- o Medical Extensions will be granted on a limited basis for injury or conditions that materially prevent competition, as determined by an outside review committee of independent medical experts.
“Last Chance” Series Eligibility
The PGA Tour will develop a “last chance” series of a minimum of four events in the fall with three cards available for the PGA Tour Championship Series. All eligible players will be eligible for every event, with no alternate list. Players will be required to participate in all events in the series in order to earn a PGA Tour Championship Series card, pending any medical exclusion. The series will be contested after the annual Qualifying Tournament (Q-School) and will begin in the fall of 2028. Eligible players are as follows:
- PGA Tour Championship Series Relegated
- o Players relegated from the PGA Tour Championship Series the season immediately preceding a “last chance” series.
- PGA Tour Challenger Series Retained
- o 21-90 from the PGA Tour Challenger Series Points List in the season immediately preceding a “last chance” series.
- 20 Players Promoted from Korn Ferry Tour
- o The 20 players promoted from the Korn Ferry Tour.
- PGA Tour University Current Season
- o 2-5 in the PGA Tour University Ranking in the current season, following the conclusion of NCAA Championship.
- PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament (Q-School)
- o The top 5 finishers from the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament immediately preceding a “last chance” series.
Transition-Year Eligibility
In order to determine membership for 2028, the following transition-year eligibility has been set.
- Tournament Winners
- o PGA Tour Tournament Winner exemptions earned by the conclusion of the 2026 season will be honored through the duration of its term on the PGA Tour Championship Series.
- o Winners of THE PLAYERS, majors and Signature Events in 2027 will earn:
- PGA Tour Championship Series membership through 2029
- PGA Tour Challenger Series membership through 2031
- o Winners of Full-Field Events in 2027 during the regular season will earn:
- PGA Tour Championship Series membership through 2028
- PGA Tour Challenger Series membership through 2029
- o Winners of FedExCup Fall Events and Opposite Events in 2027 will earn:
- PGA Tour Challenger Series membership through 2029
- FedExCup Points List
- o Players who earned a two-year exemption by finishing in the top 30 of the 2026 FedExCup Points List will have PGA Tour Championship Series membership for the 2028 season. This two-year exemption will not be awarded for the top 30 finishers in 2027.
- o The top 70 players in the final 2027 FedExCup Points List (through the FedExCup Playoffs) will earn PGA Tour Championship Series membership for 2028. Note: The top 70 will be locked following the 2027 TOUR Championship.
- o The top 95 players in the final 2027 FedExCup Fall Points List will earn PGA Tour Championship Series membership for 2028.
- o 96-175 in the final 2027 FedExCup Fall Points List will earn PGA Tour Challenger Series membership for 2028.
- Career Milestones
- o The top 25 and top 50 members on the PGA Tour Career Money List at the end of the 2027 season may elect a one-time, one-season PGA Tour Championship Series exemption for 2028. Members utilizing a Career Money Exemption must have played in 15 or more PGA Tour events in 2027.
- Korn Ferry Tour Points List
- o The top 10 players in the final 2027 Korn Ferry Tour Points List will earn PGA Tour Championship Series membership for 2028.
- o The next 30 players in the final 2027 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, not otherwise exempt for the PGA Tour Championship Series or PGA Tour Challenger Series, beginning with No. 11, will earn PGA Tour Challenger Series membership for 2028.
- PGA Tour University
- o The No. 1 player in the final 2027 PGA Tour University Ranking will earn PGA Tour membership for the remainder of the current season, following the conclusion of the NCAA Championship, and PGA Tour Championship Series membership for 2028.
- o 2-10 in the final 2027 PGA Tour University Ranking will earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for the remainder of the current season, following the conclusion of the NCAA Championship, and the top five performers on the 2027 total points list will earn PGA Tour Challenger Series membership for 2028.
- PGA Tour Americas
- o The No. 1 player in the final 2027 PGA Tour Americas Points List will earn PGA Tour Challenger Series membership for 2028.
- Medical Extensions
- o Players who are injured in 2027 and require a Major Medical Extension in 2028 will receive a medical on the PGA Tour Championship Series if:
- Competing in a tournament winner category at the time of their injury OR
- Competing out of the top 70 category at the time of their injury OR
- Maintained a 3-year average of top 70 points at the time of their injury
- o Major Medical Extensions for players who do not meet that criteria, as well as all Conditional Medical Extensions, will be played out on the PGA Tour Challenger Series.
- o All medical extensions for injuries prior to 2027 will be played out on the PGA Tour Challenger Series in 2028.
- o Players who are injured in 2027 and require a Major Medical Extension in 2028 will receive a medical on the PGA Tour Championship Series if:
- Final Stage of Q-School
- o Top 10 finishers from Final Stage of Q-School in 2027 receive PGA Tour Challenger Series membership in 2028.
- o Final Stage exemptions include:
- Players in fully exempt categories on the PGA Tour in 2027 (through top 30 FedExCup Points Year 2)
- Nos. 176-200 on the final 2027 FedExCup Fall Points List
- Players within the top 75 on the 2027 Korn Ferry Tour Points List
- Top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking as of the Final Stage entry deadline
- Nos. 2-10 in the 2027 PGA Tour University Ranking
- Top 10 on the 2027 PGA Tour Americas Points List
- Leading player from International Tour partners
- Medical Exemptions/Extensions