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09/15 11:18 CDT PGA Tour will have an elite tier and outlines the path to get there and stay there PGA Tour will have an elite tier and outlines the path to get there and stay there By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer The PGA Tour announced new eligibility for its two-tier model in 2028 that treats the elite Championship Series tournaments with equal standing as the four majors and The Players Championship. It also spells out clearly how to reach --- and stay on --- the top level. The simplified system does away with five-year exemptions for winning majors, The Players and the FedEx Cup. Those are now two-year exemptions on the Championship Series, with an additional two years on the lesser Challenger Series. Winners of Championship Series events also will get a two-year exemption on the elite circuit. The tour also is giving the top college senior a spot on the top tier, and offering a "Last Chance Series" in the fall that will award the top three players a shot at rejoining the Championship Series. "I don't think it's perfect," CEO Brian Rolapp said Tuesday in a conference call. "But I think it's a huge improvement, and I think we'll continue to innovate as the years go on because we'll be smarter after the '28 season and smarter after the '29 and we'll continue to try to get better." It starts with a key transition period --- how to determine who gets on the Championship Series with its $20 million purses, and who starts on the Challenger Series of prize funds expected to be half as much. Each tier will have its own points system. For the Championship Series, all tournaments --- including the majors --- are treated equally. Currently, there is a bump in points for the majors and The Players. The tour said it would honor exemptions earned in 2026. That means PGA champion Aaron Rai and British Open champion Ryan Fox will get five-year exemptions on the Championship Series through 2031. Major champions in 2027 will be exempt on the elite level through 2029. But it makes 2027 a pivotal year. The top 70 in the FedEx Cup through the Tour Championship --- and the top 95 after the fall portion --- will be in the Championship Series, along with those who have exemptions from winning regular tournaments in 2026. The top 20 on the Korn Ferry Tour this year earn PGA Tour cards. For 2027, the top 10 will get on the top tier, and the next 10 start on the Challenger Series. The PGA Tour boards approved the plan Monday. Still to be decided are the rest of the Championship Series events and where they fit in the schedule. Nine such events already have been announced. Rolapp has asked for offers from potential sponsors and sites by the end of the month. The tour is still negotiating with the European tour on a renewed alliance that currently provides PGA Tour cards for the leading 10 players in the Race to Dubai. At stake is how many of those players would go straight to the Championship Series. Rolapp said he doesn't see a scenario where Championship series spots are not offered. Rory McIlroy saw that as critical. "I don't see any reason why a DP World Tour player would go to the Challenger Series. I don't see that as an upward move in your career," McIlroy said Tuesday ahead of the European tour's flagship event at Wentworth. "I see it as a very lateral move. "How many cards is reasonable to give to the DP World Tour for the Championship Series? I would imagine that's what the ongoing discussions are." Rolapp said the key to the changes was "to reward excellence and ensure there is always a clear path for top performers at every stage of their career."

Championship Series criteria The Championship Series will be for the top 90 players from the previous season; the top 20 players from the Challenger Series; players who win multiple times in a season on the Challenger Series; players who have won in the past two years on the Championship Series; players who wish to use a one-time exemption from the career money list; and any medical extensions. Players generally will no longer get additional years tacked onto their exemptions by winning multiple times during a season.

Challenger Series criteria The Challenger Series will be for players relegated out of the Championship Series; players who finish between No. 21 and No. 90 on the Challenger points list; the leading 20 players from the Korn Ferry Tour; players finishing Nos. 2-5 in the PGA Tour University ranking; and five players from qualifying school. The Challenger Series also will have two sponsor exemptions and allow for two Monday qualifiers at tournaments that are held the same weeks as the Championship Series. The "Last Chance Series" will be for anyone who has Challenger Series status secured for the following year. The tour said there will be a minimum of four fall tournaments, and players will be required to play them all --- pending a medical exception --- if they want to earn the three spots in the Championship Series. ___ See AP's full golf coverage here

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