PGA Tour gives fans what they want — match play with meaning | Golf Insider
No more starting strokes. No more being confused by the playoffs. No more apathy toward the playoffs.
It’s time for Scottie Scheffler vs. Rory McIlroy or Wyndham Clark vs. Cameron Young or maybe even Ryan Fox vs. Jacob Bridgeman.
The PGA Tour listened to fans and is bringing match play to the Tour Championship in 2028.
“This sets the stage for a reimagined Tour Championship, a separate, stand-alone competition that will emerge as one of the most difficult tournaments to qualify for and win,” PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp told reporters at the Tour Championship on Tuesday. “It’s match play over two weeks, an opportunity to make this an extended moment that commands the attention of golf and sports fans.”
Rolapp announced the changes from East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta where 30 players will compete for the FedEx Cup title and a $10 million check. It’s a stroke-play event so whoever is hot in muggy Atlanta will win the FedEx Cup.
It’s always been a weird format. Golf doesn’t have the Super Bowl or the NCAA Tournament. The PGA Tour tried, but the FedEx Cup never really hit.
Bringing in match play will give golf a sense of one-on-one which will have much more of a playoff feel even if going forward they won’t call it that.
March Madness for pro golf? Sign us up.
The PGA Tour will use the same format in 2027 before the switch in 2028 when the BMW Championship, which will be held at Olympia Fields near Chicago and not Castle Pines, will have a 90-man field.
The top 32 after the BMW Championship will be split into eight groups of four-player pools for the first week of the Tour Championship. The leading two players from each pool advance to the final week, a match-play format over four days.
“I think the PGA Tour, the Future Competition Committee, Brian (Rolapp) and everyone involved have really taken on board what the fans have been calling for and have wanted, which is match play,” McIlroy said Tuesday. “Brian took me through the plan last week for the first time. I didn’t really know anything about it. It’s certainly different. Two weeks, two different venues. But it’s cool. I think they’ve taken a big swing, and conceptually, I think I really like it.”
Could Cherry Hills Country Club or Castle Pines Golf Club be considered as one of these match-play venues? Rolapp said they are looking at different venues that are not regularly on the PGA Tour. We have seen the best amateurs in the world in match play at Cherry Hills. Why not the best pros?
A Tour Championship stop in Colorado wouldn’t give the state the every-year event desired by fans, but it will be part of the rotation and possibly be one of the most exciting events of the year.
“This new format creates an exciting opportunity to showcase some of the most renowned venues in our sport, including places the modern tour has never been before,” Rolapp said.
There is still a wait-and-see aspect of how this all goes in 2028. But this week’s announcement shows the PGA Tour knew it needed changes and wanted to give fans an even better experience.
“The two-week thing kind of reminds me of a major in tennis, and it’s kind of fun. Those guys spend two weeks at Wimbledon, and that’s what it is. It’s unique to golf and new to it, but I think over time people will accept it and like it a lot,” Clark said.
Colorado’s Kupcho, Clark selected
to be part of U.S. teams
Colorado once again will represent the United States in upcoming team competitions.
LPGA star and Jefferson Academy graduate Jennifer Kupcho qualified for the Solheim Cup team on points this season. This will be Kupcho’s fourth appearance in the event. She has a 3-5-2 record.
The major champion has had a good year in 2026, including a tie for eighth place at the U.S. Women’s Open where she was in contention the entire week. She doesn’t have a win this year but has two top 10s and finished tied for 11th last week in Canada.
Denver’s Wyndham Clark makes his return to the President’s Cup team after his return to being one of the top players in golf. Clark will be making his second appearance on the team after going 1-2-1 in 2024.
The Valor Christian graduate was also part of the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 2023 that lost in Italy.
The Solheim Cup is Sept. 7-13 at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands. The Presidents Cup will be held on Sept. 22-27 at Medinah Country Club’s Course No. 3 in Chicago.
What they’re saying
“The conclusion of the season should be worthy of the journey it takes to get there. Today’s announcement is a result of the hard work and passion of our players. Excited to usher in a new era of match play on the PGA Tour.”
— Tiger Woods on the PGA Tour changing the format of the Tour Championship
Skins game
Odds to win Tour Championship
Scottie Scheffler +350
Rory McIlroy +950
Xander Schauffele +1200
Sam Burns +1500
Wyndham Clark +1800
Patrick Cantlay +1800
Ludvig Aberg +2000
This week in golf
PGA Tour
Tour Championship
Site: Atlanta.
Course: East Lake GC. Yardage: 7,440. Par: 70.
Prize money: $40 million. Winner’s share: $10 million.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (Golf Channel), 1-5 p.m. (CBS); Sunday, 10:30-11:30 a.m. (Golf Channel), 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m. (CBS).
Defending champion: Tommy Fleetwood.
LPGA Tour
FM Championship
Site: Norton, Mass.
Course: TPC Boston. Yardage: 6,533. Par: 72.
Prize money: $4.4 million. Winner’s share: $660,000.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 7-10 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 1-5 p.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 11-11:30 a.m. (Golf Channel mobile), 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Miranda Wang.
DP World Tour
British Masters
Site: Sutton Coldfield, England.
Course: The Belfry. Yardage: 7,363. Par: 72.
Prize money: $3.5 million. Winner’s share: $583,333.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 5:30-7 a.m. (Golf Channel), 7-11 a.m. (Golf Channel mobile); Saturday, 5-10 a.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 5-10 a.m. (CNBC).
Defending champ: Alex Noren.
PGA Tour Champions
The Ally Challenge
Site: Grand Blanc, Mich.
Course: Warwick Hills Golf & CC. Yardage: 7,085. Par: 72.
Prize money: $2.2 million. Winner’s share: $330,000.
Television: Friday, 1-4 p.m. (Golf Channel mobile), 5-7 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay); Saturday, 12:30-3:30 p.m. (Golf Channel mobile), 6-8 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay); Sunday, 1-2 p.m. (Golf Channel mobile), 2-4 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Stewart Cink.
FedEx Cup standings
Points Money
- Scottie Scheffler 4,986 $20,937,525
- Matt Fitzpatrick 3,463 $14,271,067
- Wyndham Clark 3,292 $14,236,186
- Cameron Young 3,206 $14,408,482
- Si Woo Kim 2,729 $9,735,444
- Chris Gotterup 2,588 $8,738,885
- Collin Morikawa 2,542 $9,458,378
- Sam Burns 2,453 $8,896,540
- Tommy Fleetwood 2,263 $7,054,605
- Ludvig Åberg 2,198 $7,147,271
- Rory McIlroy 2,095 $9,866,606
- Xander Schauffele 2,025 $7,452,725
- Jacob Bridgeman 1,961 $8,278,365
- Russell Henley 1,853 $6,446,085
- Akshay Bhatia 1,842 $7,941,049
- Hideki Matsuyama 1,637 $5,679,457
- Ryan Gerard 1,608 $6,299,898
- Gary Woodland 1,556 $5,266,379
- Patrick Cantlay 1,529 $6,083,596
- Kristoffer Reitan 1,523 $6,448,739
- Min Woo Lee 1,496 $5,763,252
- J.J. Spaun 1,464 $5,099,908
- Alex Smalley 1,443 $5,430,908
- Alex Fitzpatrick 1,434 $4,670,614
- Robert MacIntyre 1,428 $5,020,888
- Viktor Hovland 1,425 $6,495,826
- Justin Rose 1,405 $5,160,356
- Adam Scott 1,383 $4,461,268
- Tom Kim 1,378 $4,816,710
- Ryan Fox 1,368 $5,538,659