PGA Tour Announces Championship Series, Challenger Series Details, Set to Debut in 2028

Having previously announced the Championship and Challenger series, the PGA Tour has shared more details ahead of their debut in 2028.

The PGA Tour unveiled the eligibility and membership criteria for both series on Tuesday.

Tour members will earn a two-year exemption to the Championship Series, which is the top level of the new PGA Tour ecosystem, through 2028 either by winning Championship Series tournaments or finishing in the top 30 of the FedEx Cup point standings.

The top 90 players from the Championship Series will retain their membership year over year. Twenty players from the Challenger Series will be promoted to the top-level series each year.

The new format also includes a change in the point system to flatten things. Winners of each Championship Series event, the four major championship tournaments and the TOUR Championship will receive 300 points. Runners-up will receive 200 points and third-place finishers will get 150 points.

Players who finish between 96th and 175th place in the FedEx Cup standings in 2027 will earn a spot in the Challenger Series the following year.

There is also the ability to earn a mid-year promotion to the Championship Series if a player wins multiple tournaments on the Challenger Series.

The Tour also announced there will be "applicable medical extensions and career milestone exemptions" for the Championship Series.

The career milestone exemption includes a "one-time money exemption" for 2028 if a player is in the top 50 of career PGA Tour earnings at the end of the 2027 season.

Per the PGA Tour, Championship Series events have a goal of providing an average field of 120 players for tournaments across the entire calendar year. Challenger Series events will feature up to 144 players, but it maintains the ability to reduce the field when necessary.

Membership in the Challenger Series will include "high-performing" college golfers, with players ranked from Nos. 2-5 in the annual PGA Tour University ranking receiving membership after the NCAA championship through the next season.

Players in the Championship Series will also be eligible to qualify for the new playoff format with the top 32 players on the points list advancing to the PGA TOUR Championship Series Finale.

The Championship Series Finale will cut down the field from 32 to 16, with those players participating in a two-week TOUR Championship that will determine the playoff winner.