The PGA Tour announces new format, jeopardizing Colonial, Nelson events
The PGA Tour board announced Tuesday that it approved a new format for the PGA Tour beginning in 2028 that will feature two series of tournaments. The announcement did not include where the Colonial and Byron Nelson events would fall.
The format features a new competitive model that will have players move between the two series each year with a promotion and relegation structure. The tour will split into the PGA Tour Championship Series and the PGA Tour Challenger series.
The Championship series will consist of 23 to 24 events, including the Players Championship, the majors and international events with 120 players in the field. Ninety players will be able to retain the spot in the top flight through a point system throughout the year. The minimum purse for the tournaments will be $20 million.
In the release, the PGA Tour already identified 10 of its 15 events and eight signature events that are expected to be a part of the Championship series. ESPN identified the signature events as the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational, RBC Heritage, Cadillac Championship, Memorial Championship and Travelers Championship.
The release said the tour is targeting large markets like Boston, Denver, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington to fill out the remaining events. It did not mention Dallas-Fort Worth.
“Today, we are putting the fans first, and I am excited about the future of our sport,” current Masters champion and world number two, Rory McIlory, said in a statement.
That leaves the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial and the CJ Cup Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney in question for which flight they’ll be in. No statement has been released on where the tournaments will fall.
One of the changes the PGA Tour enacted as a result of the creation of LIV Golf in 2022 was to increase purse sizes at some events to appease, and retain, top players; those events carry an “elevated” distinction. Schwab was offered the opportunity to be an “elevated” event, but declined.
The 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge’s purse was $9.9 million. The Memorial tournament Columbus, Ohio, featured a purse of $20 million.
The Charles Schwab Challenge is the longest-running PGA Tour event held continuously at the same course. Both tournaments have featured top golfers like Scottie Scheffler and Tiger Woods that bring out tens of thousands of fans each year.
Tournament attendance would significantly drop without the likes of the top golfers in the world showing up.
The 2028 schedule hasn’t been officially announced, keeping the fate of both tournaments in question.
The 2027 PGA Championship will be from May 20 to 23 in Frisco at PGA Frisco’s Fields Ranch East Course. DFW could see a fall off in major golf after the event.
The PGA Tour Challenger series will have 144 player field sizes on average with a minimum of $4 million in tournament purses. Players from the Challenger series can earn promotion through either winning two events, in-season promotion or by finishing in the top 20 through points. A minimum of 20 players will be promoted each season.
More information on the format and expected locations will be announced in the first quarter of 2027, according to the PGA Tour.
