{"id":656687,"date":"2026-06-25T01:38:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T01:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/656687\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T01:38:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T01:38:21","slug":"tiger-woods-returns-to-introduce-golfs-two-tier-pga-tour-shake-up-from-2028-pga-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/656687\/","title":{"rendered":"Tiger Woods returns to introduce golf\u2019s two-tier PGA Tour shake-up from 2028 | PGA Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"

The PGA Tour<\/a> has announced sweeping changes to its competitive structure, approving a two-tier system with promotion and relegation to take effect in 2028.<\/p>\n

The elite-tier PGA Tour Championship Series will run from February to August and \u200bfeature 23-24 events with $20m (\u00a315m) purses, while the $4m (\u00a33m) events on the Challenger Series will provide a path for players to earn their way to the top level.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt 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,\u201d the PGA Tour CEO, Brian Rolapp, said in Cromwell, Connecticut, venue for this week\u2019s Travelers Championship.<\/p>\n

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 be contested as 72-hole strokeplay events with a 36-hole cut.<\/p>\n

The \u200bnew structure introduces true promotion and relegation, with a minimum of 90 \u200cplayers retained on the Championship Series and 20 \u200cpromoted from the Challenger Series each season.<\/p>\n

Tiger Woods, making his first public appearance since his DUI charge in March, was part of \u200cthe nine-member committee that recommended the changes and introduced Rolapp at the press conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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,\u201d 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 DC.<\/p>\n

Full eligibility criteria will be finalised by the PGA Tour later this year, including select additional exemptions for tournament winners, medical extensions and career milestones. There will be no sponsor exemptions.<\/p>\n

The Challenger Series, which will \u200crun concurrently to the Championship Series, will have a minimum of 20 events and feature emerging talent along with players fighting their way back to the top. Fields will be filled to 144 players.<\/p>\n

Two-time winners on the Challenger Series will earn immediate promotion to the Championship \u200bSeries.<\/p>\n

There will also be a \u201clast chance\u201d series of four-to-six events where a limited number of spots on the Championship Series will be available.<\/p>\n

Rory McIlroy says the changes to the PGA Tour are a positive step for professional golf. Photograph: John Angelillo\/UPI\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

The world No 2, Rory McIlroy, who recently suggested that a two-track system would turn some tournaments into \u201cglorified Korn Ferry events\u201d<\/a> in a reference to the tour\u2019s developmental circuit, called the changes a positive step for professional golf after the arrival of LIV golf shook up the sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the last few years, golf has faced a period of uncertainty and division, which has not been in the best interests of the players, or the fans of the game,\u201d McIlroy said in a statement. \u201cToday, we are putting the fans \u200bfirst and I am excited about the future of our \u200bsport.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a \u200bseparate announcement, the PGA Tour said Rolapp, who began his tenure as CEO last July, had been approved as the US-based circuit\u2019s \u200bnext commissioner from January. Rolapp will take over \u200cfrom Jay Monahan, who \u200bwill conclude his 10-year tenure on 31 December.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The PGA Tour has announced sweeping changes to its competitive structure, approving a two-tier system with promotion and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":656688,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[5904,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-656687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=656687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656687\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/656688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=656687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=656687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=656687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}