The PGA Tour will conclude its season with a match play format starting in 2028.
Brian Loughnane, CEO of the PGA Tour, announced on August 26 that the new Championship Series will feature a match play tournament for the top 32 players, marking the end of the season.
The final event will span three weeks. The top 90 players in season points will first compete in a 72-hole stroke play event, the PGA Tour Championship Series finale, from which the top 32 will advance to the Tour Championship.
The 90 players participating will retain their spots for the following season. At the conclusion of the tournament, the season points leader, the tournament winner, official prize money, and season bonuses will be finalized.
The match play event will take place over two weeks at different venues. In the first week, the 32 players will be divided into eight groups of four, competing in head-to-head matches. The top two players from each group will advance to the next round.
In the second week, the tournament will move to a new location where the 16 players will compete in a knockout format, where losing once eliminates a player from the championship race. The last player standing will be crowned the Tour Championship winner, while all eliminated players will complete four rounds. Final rankings will be determined based on individual win-loss records.
Match play differs from stroke play, where rankings are based on total strokes. In match play, the player who wins the most holes wins the match.
While match play is used in events like the Ryder Cup, this will be the first time it is introduced in the PGA Tour postseason. The last match play event held by the PGA Tour was the 2023 WGC Match Play.
Loughnane stated, "The goal of the Future Competition Committee was to create a competitive structure that fans can easily understand while enhancing the significance of each match and the overall flow of the season. Based on feedback from fans, players, and partners, we have established a structure for the season finale that rewards outstanding performance throughout the season and leads into the newly revamped Tour Championship."
The Tour Championship will not be fixed to a specific course and will rotate among prestigious courses each year. The PGA Tour plans to utilize courses that have been difficult to host events at, leveraging the smaller field and match play format.
Tiger Woods, who chaired the Future Competition Committee, also expressed his support, writing on social media, "I am excited to usher in a new era of match play in the PGA Tour."
The current playoff format consists of three consecutive stroke play events to determine the champion, with the final event featuring the top 30 players competing in a four-round stroke play format.
Rory McIlroy, currently ranked second in the world, commented, "I like that they are trying something big, but it is also important that the regular season champion, who plays stroke play, receives appropriate recognition."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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