The Memorial Tournament received an expected shot in the arm Aug. 17 when the PGA Tour assigned it to the top-tier Championship Series division, which will secure bigger names and deeper fields at Muirfield Village Golf Club beginning in 2028.
The Memorial, played annually in late May or early June in Dublin, anticipated it would receive Championship Series status, having already operated as one of eight signature events with smaller fields and richer purses. But nothing was official until the tour gave final approval.
The unlikely alternative was for the Memorial, founded and hosted by Upper Arlington native Jack Nicklaus, to be part of the tour's secondary tier, called the Challenger Series, comprised of players outside the top 130 players on the season-long
points list.
Beginning in 2028, the tour separates into two tiers, the Championship and Challenger. The Championship Series, comprised of about two dozen tournaments, including the majors, will feature more elite fields, including players with multiple tour wins and major championship titles. Weekly field sizes for the 72-hole Championship events will top out at 120, with 36-hole cuts, no sponsor exemptions or alternate lists. Minimum purses are $20 million, which is what the Memorial has paid out the last several years. Challenger Series purses begin at $4 million.
At the end of each season, 90 players at the Championship level will retain their eligibility, while the bottom 30 will be in danger of being relegated to the Challenger Series, which in turn will elevate some of its members to the Championship series.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Memorial Tournament receives top-tier Championship Series tour status
