PGA Tour Commissioner Brian Rollapp. [AP]
PGA Tour Commissioner Brian Rollapp. [AP]

The PGA Tour will split its schedule into two tiers — Track 1 and Track 2 — beginning with the 2028 season, with players moving between them based on performance under a new promotion-relegation system.

PGA Tour Commissioner Brian Rollapp formally outlined the details of the "new competitive model" Thursday at a briefing during the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. The restructuring aims to eliminate the side effects of the limited-field, no-cut format that emerged during the tour's rivalry with LIV Golf and to restore the merit-based competition central to the sport.

Under the plan released by the Future Competition Committee, the PGA Tour schedule will be strictly divided into two tracks starting in 2028. Track 1 will consist of roughly 22 to 23 high-purse events — the four major championships, The Players Championship, 15 to 16 regular events selected from the existing Signature Events, and a FedEx Cup Playoffs field being trimmed to two tournaments. Field sizes for Track 1 events will expand from the current 72-to-80-player limit at Signature Events to 120 to 130 players.

Track 2 will feature approximately 20 events for players who do not qualify for Track 1, with fields of around 140 players per event. While purses will be smaller than those on Track 1, Track 2 will serve as the sole official pathway for players to earn promotion to Track 1 the following season.

The centerpiece of the overhaul is the promotion-relegation system, under which players move up or down based on their season results. Under criteria currently being discussed by the committee, only players who finish inside the top 90 in the FedEx Cup points standings for a given season will retain their Track 1 status for the following year. Those who fall below the cutoff will automatically lose their status and drop to Track 2.

To fill the vacated spots, 20 to 30 players will be promoted to Track 1 each season — drawn from the top performers on Track 2 and up to 10 players from the DP World Tour. Tour management is also finalizing mid-season relegation rules that would send underperforming Track 1 players down immediately, as well as regulations restricting Track 1 members from competing in Track 2 events.

The sweeping divisional structure is intended to address problems that arose from the tour's battle with LIV Golf, which is backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. To stem defections by top players, the tour had created Signature Events with purses of $20 million and ran five of them without a 36-hole cut — a format that drew criticism from inside and outside the tour for limiting opportunities for lower-ranked players and reducing competitive tension.

Starting with the 2028 season, those no-cut Signature Events will also see their fields grow to 120 or more players, while a 36-hole cut eliminating roughly half the field will be reinstated across the board.

Player reaction to the changes has been mixed. Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland said in an interview immediately after the briefing that he had no intention of changing his personal annual schedule even if the PGA Tour moves to a two-track system, indicating he would continue to select his events with an eye toward balancing obligations such as his DP World Tour requirements.

Rollapp said the competitive model was designed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the tour system itself, beyond the interests of any individual player. He added that the Future Competition Committee had reached substantial consensus through 14 full sessions attended by player representatives and three rounds of coordination with the Player Advisory Council.

The PGA Tour plans to finalize and officially announce the specific details and implementing rules of the promotion-relegation overhaul at its regular board of directors meeting, scheduled just before the start of the Travelers Championship on June 22.


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