The PGA Tour is “expected to announce sweeping schedule changes at the Travelers Championship in three weeks, with implementation targeted for 2028,” according to Joel Beall of GOLF DIGEST. General frameworks have “been pitched to players and the advisory council in recent weeks, centered on a new two-tiered system.” The top circuit would “feature roughly 20-plus events (majors included), fields of around 120 players, and purses” of $20M. The bottom 20-30 finishers at season’s end would “be relegated to the second tier” and the top performers there would “earn promotion back up.” However, pushback has “come from multiple directions — players, sponsors, and tournaments alike.” Some players see the proposal as “little more than the existing PGA Tour/Korn Ferry structure with a smaller event count.” Tournament officials “likely slotted into the second tier are asking why they’d offer substantial prize money for what amounts to a feeder league,” and media partners “want clarity on what they’re actually paying for under their current deals.” One of the points “still being discussed is playoff format.” PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said that “everything is still up for discussion.” Rolapp said there is a meeting with the Player Advisory Council scheduled for June 9 (GOLF DIGEST, 6/3).

IN THE WORKS: GLOBAL GOLF POST’s Ron Green Jr. noted the idea of having approximately 24 events including the majors along with a new playoff structure for 120-130 players “has been generally agreed upon.” There is “still the matter of determining which tournaments will be $20 million Track 1 events” and which “will be on the second, less-lucrative track.” Negotiations are “continuing between the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour about extending their strategic alliance,” and Rolapp expects the tour to have new media rights deals “long before the current deals expire at the end of 2030.” Getting the general buy-in from players on such a substantial change “has taken time” and there are “still details to refine before anything becomes official.” Rolapp said, “It doesn’t mean everyone loves everything, but I think everyone sort of gets why we’re doing this and the direction we’re going. I think there’s a decent consensus on that” (GLOBAL GOLF POST, 6/3). The AP’s Doug Ferguson wrote “still under discussion are details that include which tournaments are going on Track 1 and Track 2, the courses they play and perhaps going to bigger markets the tour is not in, such as New York, Chicago, Boston, Denver and Philadelphia” (AP, 6/3).

JUST A MAKEOVER? GOLFWEEK’s Adam Schupak wrote there is a “sense that Track 2 will be nothing more than a re-branded version of the Korn Ferry Tour.” However, Rolapp “dismissed that notion.” He said that the caliber of player “will be higher than what at present is on the Tour’s developmental circuit.” Rolapp: “We’re leaning back into the meritocracy of the sport. So the consequence of those events, trying to get their way up into Track 1 will be heightened.” Schupak noted there have “been rumors that the opposite-field events would go away.” Rolapp said that Track 1 and 2 events “could be played the same week.” Schupak noted discussions “are ongoing about in-season promotion and relegation,” which Rolapp “characterized as ‘substantial enough to matter’” (GOLFWEEK, 6/3).