PGA Tour makes expected match-play Tour Championship announcement

The PGA Tour have confirmed match-play will return to the Tour Championship as part of a huge revamp in 2028.

In June, PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolapp outlined how promotion and relegation will be a key element of the North American circuit in two years' time.  

A Championship and Challenger Series will be created, with players switching levels based on their performance. 

The top tier will feature fields of at least 120 players and minimum prize purses of $20m.

Rolapp also teased plans to overhaul the format for the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake. 

On Tuesday, Rolapp confirmed that the Tour Championship will be a two-week match-play event. 

The top 90 players in the Championship Series will qualify for a 72-hole stroke-play Championship Series Finale where the 32-man field will be determined for the new-look Tour Championship. 

The first week will be the group stage, where the field will be split into eight groups of four. 

Each player will face the other three players in his group and the top two seeds will move on to the next week. 

The final week will feature 16 players contesting four rounds of match-play.

The sweeping changes stemmed from recommendations made by the Tiger Woods-chaired Future Competition Committee (FCC).

The FCC were charged with reviewing and redesigning the PGA Tour's competitive structure.

"From the beginning, the goal of the Future Competition Committee was to create an easier-to-follow competitive model for our fans with greater consequence and a stronger season-long narrative," Rolapp said. 

"Throughout this process, we listened carefully to our fans, players and partners.

"One message came through clearly: the culmination of our season should be worthy of the journey it takes to get there. 

"The result is a season-ending structure that rewards excellence over the course of the year while building towards a reimagined Tour Championship. 

"We are creating something different, something distinct within professional golf that can resonate far beyond it."

The 2026 Tour Championship begins on Thursday. 

In the past, the format has faced significant criticism, including from some players.

Between 2019-2024, the FedEx Cup leader began with a 10-shot lead. 

The PGA Tour abandoned the starting strokes system last season. 

World number one Scottie Scheffler was among those to criticise the format, calling it "silly". 

"Shifting the Tour Championship to a more straight-up format with a tougher course set-up makes it easier for fans to follow and provides a more challenging test for players, which brings out the best competition," Scheffler later said in a statement after the change was made.