ATLANTA — PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp pushed some serious chips on the table Tuesday with the unveiling of a thorough remaking of the Tour Championship. One has to surmise, then, that sacred cows might be an endangered species as he continues to roll out the rest of his plans for a reimagined—that’s the word, isn’t it?— tour product starting in 2028.
Instead of a one-week stroke-play showdown of the top 30 players on the FedEx Cup points list, which remains the format for this year and next at East Lake Golf Club, the revamped concept calls for match play over two weeks at two separate venues with a group stage of 32 players competing in eight separate brackets followed by a 16-player finale. In furtherance of making this playoffs more compelling, Rolapp wants to see these events played at iconic venues that traditionally have not hosted tour events or haven't in recent years.
“It's match play over two weeks, an opportunity to make this an extended moment that commands the attention of golf and sports fans,” Rolapp said during a press conference Tuesday at East Lake, in which he also shed further light—as best he could—on the progress of other changes coming in 2028.
The Championship Series, which is still being finalized and therefore is the priority before the tour can cobble together the Challenger Series, will be comprised of 15 regular-season events along with the four majors and the Players Championship. The tour has much to decide, however, by Feb. 22, 2027, the deadline it has given itself to unveil the full slates of events on its new two-tier schedule. Fields of up to 120 players will compete in the non-major events on the Championship Series and the top 90 will retain their status and compete in a regular-season finale that will determine the 32 players who qualify for the two-week match-play contest. Still to be determined (get ready to see those words again) is whether or not there is prize money after the completion of the elimination tournament. Venues such as Sleepy Hollow, Interlachen and Los Angeles Country Club—along with East Lake—might be future venues. Allocation of bonus earnings is part of discussions likely extending into November, Rolapp said.
More From Golf Digest
Seven events have been introduced as Championship Series events that will offer $20 million purses. Rolapp said four more have been "identified," while 14 suitors are vying for the last four events. The going rate to be included in this upper tier, sources told Golf Digest, is $25 million. Although it could climb as high as $30 million. But Rolapp said a bidding war will not determine the selection of the remaining tournaments.
“Well, it's a high-class problem. We're glad we have it,” Rolapp said. “But I think it's not just financial, although that's a factor, of course. It's the quality of the golf course. It's the quality of the sponsor, what they can do for not only the tournament but the PGA Tour and how they continue to promote the sport and the tour. I think it's the community; can they support a tournament. It's the charitable aspect of it; do we have that lined up right. So I think it's a portfolio of things.”
Rolapp added: “I think more to the point, it's a testament to the strength of the PGA Tour, and I think it's a validation of where we're going.”
We’re inclined to counter that interest in that upper tier comprised of the game’s top players—minus any LIV Golf League players who may or may not add value and are seemingly not welcome, given Rolapp’s comments and their potential road back to the tour—is a reflection of money flowing to the most attractive option. The tour has yet to turn its attention to the Challenger tier, which will feature 144-man fields playing for smaller purses of about $4 million to $5 million. There is chatter that some current sponsors, should they be omitted from the Championship Series, have little appetite for the second level.
“I think based on the initial interest we've seen, I think we're optimistic,” Rolapp said. “I think we've seen quite a bit of demand for the Challenger Series, not only from existing sponsors but also new sponsors who have not been associated with the PGA Tour.
“I do believe with our new model, from a commercial standpoint, from a sponsor standpoint, we have a price point and we have an opportunity for sponsors at all levels at what makes sense for their own marketing goals and sponsorship goals. I think that was one of the reasons behind the model, and we feel pretty good about how the market is reacting.”
Just how the Championship Series field will be filled is another question that’s still begging an answer. Career achievements such as major victories currently carry exemptions of multiple years. Would those be honored starting in 2028? Likely. Other milestones such as career victories could play into filling the field. That conceivably could give Tiger Woods a path to play in some events. And what opportunities await future graduates from the heretofore successful PGA Tour University Program?
“We haven’t determined that. We’re working through that,” he said. “I think all eligibility matters when it comes to both tracks, we're working hard on it as we speak, and we'll have it sorted most likely by the September board meeting, Sept. 15.”
Additional irons in the fire include the “last chance” fall schedule for players who do not qualify for the 90-man regular-season finale, an international series of events that is being coordinated with the DP World Tour , the PGA Tour’s strategic partner, and will include the Australian Open and perhaps a few stops on the Asian Tour, and the continuance of the developmental circuits, the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour Americas.
The scale of changes that Rolapp and the Future Competition Committee, chaired by Woods, are undertaking is enormous and complicated. There are not just moving parts to consider but additions and subtractions and eligibility questions that almost certainly are going to make some factions very unhappy. Even sponsors who already are on board with the Championship Series have to get their heads around the concept that individual exemptions are being eliminated. (It remains to be seen if the invitationals—the Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Memorial Tournament—retain their traditional amateur exemptions because those players would likely be add-ons to those fields and would not affect points or earnings.)
So much work left to do before the self-imposed Feb. 22 deadline and so many details, large and small, have to be ironed out. To date, Rolapp has provided answers that indicate two hands on the wheel and a calm self-assurance that the daunting enterprise of creating a very different PGA Tour will be received with acceptance. Grudgingly, perhaps, in some corners, but accepted, nevertheless.
“Ultimately, the Future Competition Committee was a group of people trying to do their best,” Rolapp said, “trying to serve partners and members and fans, and I think some of the validation we've seen, at least in the commercial marketplace and elsewhere, has been good to see. So we're going to keep plugging along.”