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The Travelers Championship has been the first tournament named to the PGA Tour’s new Championship Series beginning in 2028.
Last month, tour CEO Brian Rolapp announced sweeping changes coming to the lead with two co-existing series, real promotion and relegation, a reimagined postseason and a schedule built around markets the tour has mostly ignored. The PGA Tour Championship Series will replace the elevated/signature events model, while the Challenger Series runs concurrently as its feeder. The Championship Series will feature roughly 23-24 events per season, running February through August, with fields capped at 120 players with 36-hole cuts and no alternate list. Those events will feature the four majors, the Players Championship, the postseason and the Ryder Cup/Presidents Cup, leaving 15 events or so to fill in the schedule. At the time, Rolapp said the tour had 10 events already lined up.
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Given that those changes were announced during the Travelers, it felt safe to assume the Hartford-based tournament—which has held signature/designated status the past four years—was in the mix for a Championship Series spot. On Monday, the tour made the move official.
“This partnership with Travelers and with the PGA Tour has taken the tournament to incredible new heights,” said Travelers Championship tournament director Nathan Grube. “We’re proud of the Travelers Championship, the economic impact it makes on our community and the state of Connecticut, and the hundreds of local charities that continue to benefit financially.”
The PGA Tour is expected to announce the full 2028 slate later. While the tour’s boards approved a framework, the details are still being finalised ahead of a 2027 deadline. Other highlights for the proposed 2028 schedule include a reinvented postseason (with match play and rotating Tour Championship venues), a fall international series, and the end of sponsor exemptions.
Complete eligibility criteria, including access for the DP World Tour as part of the Strategic Alliance and PGA Tour University, must be resolved before the 2027 season begins.
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Main Image: Ben Jared
