PGA Tour's 2028 Championship Series takes shape

The PGA Tour has revealed the broad outline of its Championship Series, set to launch with the 2028 season.

The tour announced Wednesday on its official website that the Cadillac Championship had been added to the Championship Series. At least 10 events on the 2028 Championship Series schedule — including the major championships — have now been confirmed.

The 10 confirmed events comprise five regular tour stops and five majors and special events. The regular tour contingent includes the newly added Cadillac Championship, The Sentry, the Travelers Championship, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and a new event sponsored by Sompo. Joining them are the four major championships, led by the Masters Tournament, along with The Players Championship — often called the "fifth major." Factor in the Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup, held in alternating years, and nearly half the full schedule is already in place.

The centerpiece of the tour's 2028 restructuring is a two-tier league system with promotion and relegation. The tour will be divided into the Championship Series — a top-flight division where the world's best players compete — and a lower-tier Challenger Series.

Running from February through August each year, the Championship Series will consist of 23 to 24 events per season, encompassing the majors, The Players Championship and a revamped postseason. Every Championship Series event will be open exclusively to approximately 120 of the world's top players, with no Monday qualifiers, sponsor exemptions or alternate lists, and each event will carry a minimum purse of $20 million.

The battle to hold onto top-tier status will also grow fiercer. Only roughly the top 90 players in Championship Series points will be guaranteed a first-division spot the following year; those who fall short will be relegated to the Challenger Series. Conversely, players who finish in the top 20 of the Challenger Series — which will feature about 20 events with purses of at least $4 million — will earn promotion to the Championship Series for the next season.

To fill out the remaining Championship Series slots, the tour is exploring bids from major markets that have rarely hosted tour events, including Boston, Denver, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C. The full schedule for the next-generation 2028 system, developed under PGA Tour Commissioner Brian Rollapp, is expected to be unveiled in early 2027.