While the PGA Tour’s new two-tier structure is agreed upon and takes effect in 2028, new details set the stakes for what comes next.
The magic number will be 90, with only that amount of players (out of 120) in the Championship Series guaranteed spots for the following year. The rest will be relegated to the Challenger Series.
Then, the top 20 players in the 144-man Challenger Series will be promoted into the Championship Series, in addition to anyone who wins two Challenger events during the season.
The No. 1 finisher in the PGA Tour University program after the NCAA Championships will get an immediate ticket to the Championship Series, while the Nos. 2-5 finishers will gain entry to the Challenger Series.
Finally, three more spots will be decided in a new “Last Chance” series in the fall, with four events deciding who can earn Championship Series cards. Relegated Championship players, unpromoted Challenger players, the top 20 Korn Ferry Tour finishers, those Nos. 2-5 PGA Tour U graduates and the top five Q-School finishers will also fight for a chance to jump (or keep their place) in the top tier.
There are some more interesting nuggets we learned Tuesday:
Exemptions for top earners still exist
New PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp received plenty of credit for this new competitive model, which imposed real stakes with promotion and relegation. It turns out the game’s top stars actually have one get out of jail free card.
Players in the top 50 of the PGA Tour career money list have a one-time exemption to stay in the Championship Series if they get relegated. This can only be used the year they are relegated, not stored for future use.
So, let’s say Rickie Fowler or Keegan Bradley has a poor year and drops to No. 91 and gets relegated in 2028. They are both top-25 career money earners and can stay. They just have to be in the top 90 in 2029, or else it’s off to the Challenger Series.
Also, medical extensions will be available on a limited basis, determined by an outside review committee of independent medical experts.
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Winners exemptions
One tricky element of negotiations was how to handle winner exemptions. The final ruling: Any Championship Series win — or one at a major championship or the Players Championship — gives players an extra two-year exemption into the Championship Series. That would be for the following two years after the season they are currently in. But players do not gain extra exemptions for multiple wins in a season.
While a player winning a Championship Series event surely won’t be at much risk of falling outside the top 90, that extra year is a massive incentive.
But how do you earn your spot for 2028?
Here’s how the transition year will go for 2027:
• Tournament winner exemptions earned through 2026 will be honored for the duration given at the time. For example, Michael Thorbjornsen’s Rocket Classic win should give him a two-year exemption that gets him into that 2028 Championship Series regardless.
• Any player who wins a major championship, the Players or a signature event in 2027 gets Championship membership through 2029, and Challenger Series status through 2031, if necessary.
• Winners of other 2027 full-field events earn Championship Series spots for 2028. Opposite event/fall event winners get Challenger status through 2029.
• You can also earn your way through FedEx Cup points. It turns out the 2026 playoff was retroactively quite important, as the top 30 points finishers all earned 2028 Championship Series spots. As for the 2027 standings, the top 70 after the Tour Championship are locked in for Championship Series spots, while the top 95 after the fall series will also get into the Championship Series.
• More money list exemptions. Players in the top 50 of the all-time money list who played at least 15 events in 2027 have a one-time exemption into the 2028 Championship Series.
• The top 10 Korn Ferry Tour finishers get into the inaugural 2028 Championship Series, too. The next 30 not already exempt finishers get into the inaugural Challenger Series.
• Rounding it out: No. 1 in PGA Tour University, No. 1 on PGA Tour Americas and select medical exemptions will have spots.
It remains unclear what path back to the PGA Tour exists for Bryson DeChambeau and other LIV stars, should they choose it. (Andy Buchanan / AFP via Getty Images)
Wait, so about LIV golfers who might try to join for 2028?
We don’t know!
That was a key detail we hoped to learn by now, but the PGA Tour’s announcement said: “Access available to top performers from the DP World Tour is being considered as part of the ongoing discussions regarding the future of the Strategic Alliance.”
Obviously, LIV Golf could be back in 2027, but if it isn’t or if major players decide to leave, there’s the massive question of how they’d earn a spot in the Championship Series. PGA Tour players who left are suspended for a year after their final LIV event (in this case, August) unless Rolapp softens his stance.
So the easiest assumption is players could spend that year on the DP World Tour to earn spots in major championships and, potentially, a pathway to the PGA Tour. We just don’t know if that exists yet.
For the record — and much of this remains foggy with suspensions and the new model — here are the LIV golfers who would qualify for PGA Tour exemptions through 2028 because of major wins or the 20-win lifetime exemption: Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson.