PGA Tour Details Path to 2028 Championship Series Field

The PGA Tour published eligibility criteria this week for its revamped two-tier structure launching in 2028, under which the top-tier "Championship Series" will carry roughly 120 players with straightforward promotion and relegation between tiers each season. With the format announced during a transition period, a number of exemptions from the current system are being grandfathered in, and roughly 40 players are already locked into the 2028 field before accounting for a separate career-earnings category.

How are players already qualifying for 2028?

Reaching the top 30 in the 2026 Tour Championship secured a two-year exemption into the new series for players including Alex Smalley, Patrick Cantlay, Ryan Gerard and Si Woo Kim. Under the current exemption rules, wins can still stack: Brian Campbell's two victories in 2025 earned him three years of exempt status, while Max Homa's run of wins around the 2023 season built him the maximum five-year exemption. Going forward, the new system will not allow multiple wins to stack additional years.

Every player who won a PGA Tour event in 2026, including alternate-field tournaments, is in for 2028. That covers Steven Fisk (ISCO Championship), Ricky Castillo (Puerto Rico Open) and Brandt Snedeker (Myrtle Beach Classic). Winners of this fall's FedEx Cup Fall events, beginning with the Biltmore Championship Asheville, will also earn 2028 spots.

What happens to major champions and Signature Event exemptions?

Under the new system, winning a major championship will carry the same two-year exemption as any other Championship Series title. But 2026 major winners Aaron Rai, Rory McIlroy, Wyndham Clark and Ryan Fox keep the five-year major exemption earned under the old rules, extending their status through 2030. Brooks Koepka is exempt through his 2023 PGA Championship win and also holds a career money list exemption. Alex Fitzpatrick qualified through his and brother Matt Fitzpatrick's Zurich Classic team win, which carried Signature Event status into 2028 eligibility as well.

A tier system built to simplify eligibility is, for one transition year, running almost entirely on exemptions carried over from the system it's replacing.

What is the career money list carve-out?

Any player among the top 50 on the PGA Tour's all-time career money list who competes in at least 15 Tour events in 2027 can use a one-time waiver to secure a 2028 Championship Series spot. Jordan Spieth, No. 10 on that list, holds the waiver as a fallback. Others not otherwise exempt include Jason Day, Matt Kuchar, Rickie Fowler, Zach Johnson, Tony Finau, Webb Simpson, Lucas Glover, Billy Horschel, Harris English, Sungjae Im and Luke Donald. Tiger Woods no longer has the lifetime Signature Event exemption granted to 80-time winners under the old model and would need to meet the 15-event minimum in 2027, though he could also seek a medical exemption from an independent panel.

Which players' status is still unresolved?

Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau's returns from LIV Golf, which is in bankruptcy proceedings, remain unsettled; if Rahm rejoined the Tour, his 2023 Masters win would still carry a five-year exemption. Kevin Na, No. 42 on the career money list, has had his PGA Tour membership reinstated after leaving LIV, but the Tour said he is currently subject to disciplinary action for violating PGA Tour Regulations. The Tour did not specify the violation or when the action would end, leaving open whether Na could play the 15 events in 2027 needed to use his career money list waiver.