PGA Tour Sets 2028 Membership Structure: 114-Player Championship Series, Annual Movement Between Tiers

The PGA Tour announced the official membership eligibility framework for its 2028 restructuring on September 15, outlining a two-tiered competitive system with a 114-member Championship Series and a Challenger Series where players can move between tiers annually based on performance, per CBS Sports.

Initial membership in both series will be determined by performance across the 2026 and 2027 seasons, with membership valid only for 2028 unless otherwise indicated. Membership expires annually, forcing players to requalify. In the Championship Series, season-long points will be awarded to the top 65 finishers in each qualifying tournament, with the winner earning 300 points, the tenth-place finisher earning 100 points, and the 65th-place finisher earning 30 points, according to CBS Sports.

Championship Series members will be eligible to compete in all Championship Series events, though the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, Open Championship, and The Players Championship may maintain their own separate criteria, per CBS Sports. Tournaments will neither backfill field spots nor hold alternate lists should a player withdraw, and no sponsor exemptions will be granted.

The two series will run concurrently, with players able to move between them annually based on performance. Non-members who finish inside the necessary cutoff will not earn points until they are promoted to the Championship Series, per CBS Sports. A "last chance" series will be held over at least four events in the fall, opening eligibility to relegated Championship Series members, non-automatic qualifying Challenger Series members, promoted Korn Ferry Tour members, and the top five finishers in both the PGA Tour University rankings and Q-School. The Challenger Series points list is set to be finalized on November 16.

PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp stated, per CBS Sports: "From the beginning, we set out to preserve the meritocracy that makes our sport unique by creating a system where performance dictates opportunity." Rolapp reiterated to The Guardian on September 15: "The PGA Tour is built on meritocracy. Every player, whether they are a member or want to become one, must earn their place."

The PGA Tour is not currently contemplating a returning-member program like the one offered in January to LIV golfers seeking to rejoin, per The Guardian. However, the framework for how DP World Tour qualifying cards will work remains under discussion. Rolapp told The Guardian: "We have not determined what the DP World Tour cards will be, as of yet. That's under discussion. I don't see any scenarios where there's no Championship Series cards." PGA Tour player Rory McIlroy expressed skepticism about the Challenger Series as a career destination for DP World Tour players, telling The Guardian: "I don't see any reason why a DP World Tour player would go to the [second tier] Challenger Series. I don't see that as an upward move in your career. I see it as a very lateral move."