PGA Tour Sets Two-Week Match-Play Finale for 2028

The PGA Tour will reshape its season-ending playoffs in 2028, turning the Tour Championship into a two-week match-play competition staged at two courses. BBC Sport reported that PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolapp confirmed the head-to-head format as part of a wider overhaul of the circuit's competitive structure.

The change will replace the current playoff model, which consists of three stroke-play events and begins with the top 70 players on the season-long FedEx Cup points list. Match play has not featured on the PGA Tour since 2023, so its return represents a significant departure from the format used to decide recent champions.

Rory McIlroy, ranked second in the world and a three-time FedEx Cup winner, backed the concept after Rolapp outlined it to him. The Northern Irishman said the plan showed that tour officials and the Future Competition Committee had listened to supporters who wanted match play restored. He described the redesign as a major move and said he liked it conceptually.

McIlroy has won the FedEx Cup in 2016, 2019 and 2022. He said the existing playoffs had rewarded players and brought the season to a lucrative conclusion, but viewed the new concept as an effort to build stronger fan interest. This week's Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta has a $40 million purse, according to BBC Sport.

The playoff redesign forms only one part of the changes planned for 2028. The PGA Tour also intends to create Championship and Challenger series, with promotion and relegation linking the two levels. The regular season is set to comprise 15 events played from February through August, creating a more concentrated top-tier schedule.

McIlroy said that timetable could also provide an opening for international golf later in the year. He suggested the DP World Tour could concentrate its strongest events in the remaining five-month window and give PGA Tour-based players more reason to take up membership. The precise playoff courses, field progression and match-play bracket details were not specified in the BBC Sport report.