PGA TOUR Championship Series begins taking shape with tournament announcements

While the first shots of the 2028 PGA TOUR season still feel far on the horizon, the details are beginning to come into focus regarding where the best players in the world will compete.

First introduced by PGA TOUR CEO Brian Rolapp last month at the Travelers Championship, the TOUR will feature a new competitive structure beginning in 2028. Players will be split between two series of tournaments, the PGA TOUR Championship Series and the PGA TOUR Challenger Series. The best in the world will compete regularly against each other on the PGA TOUR Championship Series, which will feature a schedule of 23 to 24 events inclusive of the majors, THE PLAYERS Championship, a reimagined postseason and an annual team event (Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup).

The full 2028 schedule is expected to be announced early next year, but the pieces are beginning to come together on which events will comprise the PGA TOUR Championship Series. Five events have been confirmed since last week, including the Travelers, the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, the Cadillac Championship and The Sentry, the TOUR’s longstanding stop at Torrey Pines.

The fifth confirmed event will be a new one, with Sompo joining as a new sponsor of a full-field event in Napa in 2027 that will transition into a PGA TOUR Championship Series event in 2028, with tournament venue and market to be announced at a later date.

“I think it’s amazing that this plan that both the PAC (Player Advisory Council) and Rolapp put together is going to come true,” reigning U.S. Open champ Wyndham Clark said last week. “I’m really excited to see what the schedule is going to look like in ’28.”

While the details of when specific tournaments will be played once the PGA TOUR Championship Series kicks off will be determined in the months ahead, more announcements confirming additional PGA TOUR Championship Series events are expected in the coming weeks.

The first wave of announcements also highlights the TOUR’s vision for what the PGA TOUR Championship Series will become. The initial quintet is a mix of three current Signature Events as well as an esteemed venue in Torrey Pines that has hosted multiple majors. But there’s also a pledge to go somewhere new, with the Sompo-sponsored event expected to be played in a new market for the TOUR.

That’s in line with the plan that Rolapp unveiled earlier this year, which includes “opening big” with a marquee event at an iconic venue in the west. It also mixes existing events with new markets under consideration, including Boston, Denver, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington D.C.

“I’d love if we expanded west where I’m from, maybe play somewhere in Denver or Seattle, some of those untapped markets that we don’t go to,” Clark said. “I’m really excited for ’28. I think it’s going to be the best thing for golf.”

The new era on the horizon for the TOUR can seem far away when framed by the calendar, and significant components have yet to be announced. But each tournament announcement brings the vision more to life.

Event by event, the PGA TOUR Championship Series inches closer to becoming a reality.