PGA Tour unveils eligibility for Championship, Challenger series

The PGA Tour released its new competitive format for the 2028 season in two stages over the summer.

Now we know who's playing in the top-tier Championship Series, up to two dozen events per year with purses of at least $20 million that include The Players Championship, the four major championships, the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup in alternating years (no purses in the international team events) and the reimagined postseason that will include match play at the Tour Championship.

The PGA Tour Board announced its membership categories on Sept. 14, including the criteria for playing in the Championship Series and the next tier below, the PGA Tour Challenger Series — around 20 events with $4 million purses that players can use to springboard to the Championship Series.

The board also approved a points system for the Championship Series that it said will offer a clearer understanding of how players are ranked, a three-tournament "last chance" series to earn Tour cards, and how college players, Korn Ferry Tour members, and other pros seeking Tour status can play their way in.

"From the beginning, we set out to preserve the meritocracy that makes our sport unique by creating a system where performance dictates opportunity," said PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp in a statement. "Through new eligibility criteria and supporting pathways into the PGA Tour, the new competitive model is designed to reward excellence and ensure there is always a clear path for top performers at every stage of their career. For fans, this means a clear understanding of what is at stake during each PGA Tour competition, whether that is at an event or across a season."

Rolapp will hold a virtual news conference with the media on the morning of Sept. 15 to further discuss the details of the most sweeping changes to the Tour's competitive structure since the introduction of the FedEx Cup in 2007.

What tournaments are in each series?

In addition to The Players and the four majors, events confirmed by the PGA Tour under the Championship Series umbrella are: Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Cadillac Championship at Doral, The Memorial in Dublin, Ohio, RBC Heritage on Hilton Head Island, S.C., The Travelers in Hartford, Conn., the Truist Championship in Charlotte, N.C., GO by Raymond James in Greensboro, N.C., The Sentry at Torrey Pines.

Venues for the Series Finale, which will cut the top 90 players on the points list to 32, and the Tour Championship have not been finalized.

The Tour has only confirmed one tournament for the Challenger Series, the Puerto Rico Open. Likely candidates will be existing tournaments in Bermuda, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

Who's playing in the first Championship Series season?

There has to be a starting point and the Tour board approved the eligibility for the 2028 Championship Series that retroactively uses results from the 2026 season.

Here's who will play in the first Championship Series season, and the criteria bring in the world's biggest stars: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick, Wyndham Clark, Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele, among others.

• PGA Tour winners from 2026 who earned two-year exemptions through 2028. Winners of The Players, the four majors and Signature events in 2027 will be eligible for the Championship Series through 2029 and the Challenger Series through 2031.
• Winners of full-field PGA Tour events in 2027 (they also have Challenger Series status through 2029).
• The top 30 players from the 2026 FedEx Cup points list after the Tour Championship.
• The top 70 players from the 2027 FedEx Cup points list (locked after the 2027 Tour Championship).
• The top 95 players from the 2027 FedEx Cup Fall points list.
• Players who are among the top 25 and the top 50 on the PGA Tour career money list can take a one-time exemption in 2028 to play in the Championship Series.
• The top 10 players from the 2027 Korn Ferry Tour points list.
• The No. 1 player from the PGA Tour University rankings after the 2027 NCAA Championship.

Who's on the PGA Tour Challenger Series in 2028?

• Winners of FedEx Cup Fall and opposite events (held during the weeks of majors or Signature events) in 2027.
• Nos. 96-175 on the 2027 FedEx Cup Fall points list.
• Nos. 11-40 on the 2027 Korn Ferry Tour points list.
• The top five performers on the 2027 Korn Ferry points list from the 2027 PGA Tour University players ranked 2-10.
• The 2027 PGA Tour Americas points leader.
• The top 10 players from the 2027 PGA Tour Q-School.
• Who's eligible for the PGA Tour Championship Series for 2029 and beyond?
• The top 90 on the previous year's PGA Tour Championship Series points list.
• The top 20 on the previous year's PGA Tour Challenger Series points list.
• Winners of PGA Tour Championship Series events, The Players and major championships will earn a three-year exemption.
• Players who win twice on the PGA Tour Challenger Series.
• Players who lost PGA Tour Championship Series status may use their standing on the PGA Tour career money list one time, for the next season, to remain in the Championship Series.
• The No. 1 player on the PGA Tour University rankings after the NCAA Championship will have Championship Series status that season and the next season.

Who's eligible for the PGA Tour Challenger Series for 2029?

• Players who finished outside the top 90 on the previous year's Championship Series points list.
• Nos. 21-90 from the previous year's PGA Tour Challenger Series.
• Top 20 players from the previous year's Korn Ferry Tour points list.
• Winners of PGA Tour Challenger events for the current season and the following season.
• Winners of PGA Tour Championship events (including The Players and majors) from the previous four years.
• Winners of two or more PGA Tour Challenger events will have their exemption extended for each additional victory, with a maximum exemption of five years.
• No. 2-5 from the PGA Tour University rankings.
• Top five players from the previous year's PGA Tour Q-School.

What is the "Last Chance" Series?

There will be a series of four fall events with PGA Tour Challenger Series cards going to the top three players on the points list. Players will be required to participate in all events of the series to earn a Championship Series card.

Among the players eligible for the "Last Chance" Series: Those relegated from the PGA Tour Championship Series the season immediately preceding a “last chance” series; Nos. 21-90 from the PGA Tour Challenger Series Points List in the season immediately preceding a “last chance” series; and 20 players from the Korn Ferry Tour.

How will the Championship Series points list work?

One big difference from the points structure used since 2007 for the FedEx Cup is that The Players, majors and Signature events will not be weighted. All winners will earn 300 points, with 200 for second, 150 for third, 130 for fourth, down to 30 points for the player who makes the cut to the low-65 and finishes last.

According to the Tour release, the new points model features a flatter curve, rewards winning and top finishes and emphasizes making the cut.

The PGA Tour Challenger Series points system will be finalized at a board meeting on Nov. 16.

Also noteworthy about PGA Tour competition for 2028 and beyond

• The Korn Ferry Tour will remain the primary "pathway," or developmental tour to the PGA Tour.
• There will be no Monday qualifying or sponsor exemptions for PGA Tour Championship Series events or PGA Tour Challenge Series events that are played during Championship Series off weeks. There will be two Monday qualifying spots for standalone PGA Tour Challenger events.
• There are no sponsor exemptions for Championship Series events. PGA Tour Challenger Series events will get two exemptions.
• The Players and the four majors will continue to set their own eligibility requirements that could differ from PGA Tour Championship Series eligibility.
• Medical extensions for either series will be granted "on a limited basis for injury or conditions that materially prevent competition," according to the Tour release. Those extensions will be granted by an outside review committee of independent medical experts.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: PGA Tour unveils eligibility for Championship, Challenger series