In what is very much a long overdue initiative the PGA TOUR has announced it will bring into place, and commencing with the 2028 season, a ‘different, clearer and more consequential finish’ to the regular PGA Tour season.
It will be a season culminating with the PGA TOUR Championship Series to feature the best players in the world competing in match play over two weeks at different courses.
The TOUR first introduced its new competitive structure in June, which will include the PGA TOUR Championship Series and the PGA TOUR Challenger Series.
However, the PGA TOUR Championship Series will feature the TOUR’s top performers competing regularly across 72-hole, stroke-play tournaments featuring a cut, with players measured through a straightforward, season-long points system.
LONG, OVERDUE @PGATOUR FINAL SERIES INITIATIVE ….
With Tour CEO Brian Rolapp announcing ‘a different, clearer and more consequential finish’ to the regular PGA Tour season
New end-of-season format to commence 2028 season.
Read: https://t.co/j28DrJeO0o
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— Fatiha (@TOURMISS) August 25, 2026
The new structure will also include the PGA TOUR Championship Series Finale, where a season-long winner will be crowned, followed by two weeks of match play across two different courses to identify a TOUR Champion. It’s a reimagined conclusion to the season, one that will feature a compact field and unique format.
“From the beginning, the goal of the Future Competition Committee was to create an easier-to-follow competitive model for our fans with greater consequence and a stronger season-long narrative,” said PGA TOUR CEO Brian Rolapp.
“Throughout this process, we listened carefully to our fans, players and partners. One message came through clearly: the culmination of our season should be worthy of the journey it takes to get there.
The result is a season-ending structure that rewards excellence over the course of the year while building toward a reimagined TOUR Championship”.
Rolapp adding: “We are creating something different, something distinct within professional golf that can resonate far beyond it.”
Here’s a closer look at the three components that will comprise the new season-ending stretch:
PGA TOUR Championship Series Finale
The top 90 players on the PGA TOUR Championship Series points list will retain their cards for the following season. They will also gain entry into the PGA TOUR Championship Series Finale, with participation required for players to earn the season-long title, receive bonus money or qualify for the TOUR Championship.
The 72-hole, stroke-play event will crown both a tournament champion and the No. 1 finisher on the season-long points list. Official purse distributions will be made based on the tournament leaderboard, while the points list after the conclusion of the event will determine the season-long winner. This event will also set the field for the TOUR Championship, as only the top 32 players on the final season-long points list will advance to match play.
TOUR Championship Week 1
A separate, standalone event, the TOUR Championship will see the best players in the world compete in match play across a rotation of prestigious venues – including courses the modern PGA TOUR has not traditionally been able to feature. This will mark the first time that match play will be used at the TOUR Championship, and the first time the format has been contested on TOUR since the 2023 WGC-Match Play event.
The first week will feature a 32-man field split into eight groups of four players for three days of group match play. Each participant will face the other three players in their group in separate matches, with the top two players from each group advancing to Week 2 of the TOUR Championship. In the event of a tie at the conclusion of group play, a playoff will be contested to determine who from each group advances.
TOUR Championship Week 2
The championship culminates with head-to-head match play, as all 16 participants will play four days of matches on a different venue than the one utilized the week prior. Players advance through the bracket based on their win-loss record, with the two players who remain undefeated after the first three days of competition battling on the final day to be crowned TOUR Champion. Individual player records across all four days of competition will be used to determine the final championship standings.
The PGA TOUR will unveil the full lineup of dates and venues for the 2028 PGA TOUR Championship Series, including both sites for the 2028 TOUR Championship, on Feb. 22, 2027, during a live broadcast event at PGA TOUR headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, produced by PGA TOUR Studios.
Eligibility for the 2028 PGA TOUR Championship Series will be announced following the Sept. 14 board meeting. The TOUR will provide updates as additional details are finalized.
- PGA Tour statement
