Golf legend Jack Nicklaus likely delighted with latest PGA Tour announcement

The annual Memorial Tournament is the latest event to be added to the PGA TOur's Championship Series.

17 Aug 2026

The PGA Tour have confirmed the Memorial Tournament as the latest event to be added to its Championship Series.

The Memorial, played at Muirfield Village and hosted by 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus, will join an elite series of tournaments when sweeping changes to the PGA Tour's structure come into effect in two years' time.

The Tour announced plans earlier this year to split its schedule into two tiers from 2028, with the Championship Series forming the top level and a Challenger Series operating beneath it.

The Championship Series is expected to comprise 23 or 24 events, with 120-player fields and tournaments carrying purses of at least $20m.

The four majors and The Players will form part of the top tier, alongside a select number of established PGA Tour events.

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The Memorial is the latest tournament to be added to that group, bringing the number of events in the schedule to six.

The full schedule is expected to be finalised by next February.

Muirfield Village has hosted the event since 1976, with Nicklaus closely involved in the tournament throughout its history.

The Memorial will therefore retain its place among the PGA Tour's leading events as the circuit moves towards a more merit-based structure featuring promotion and relegation.

The top 90 players in the Championship Series standings will retain their status at the end of each season, while 20 players from the Challenger Series will earn promotion.

There will also be between four and six last-chance events in the autumn for players at risk of relegation.

Players competing in the Championship Series will not be permitted to play in Challenger Series events during the same season.

The lower tier will feature purses of at least $4m, with players able to earn immediate promotion by winning two Challenger Series events in the same season.

The new structure was approved by the PGA Tour's future competitions committee, chaired by Tiger Woods, with PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolapp describing the changes as necessary to strengthen the circuit's product and increase its appeal to fans and commercial partners.

The Championship Series will run from January through August, with a uniform points system used to crown an individual champion before the season-ending Tour Championship.