The PGA Tour will move to a new two-track format in 2028, and the revamp comes with a new set of commercial challenges and opportunities.
The new system, devised by Tiger Woods’ Future Competition Committee and green-lit by both the PGA Tour Policy Board and Enterprise Board, was announced last Tuesday.
The new format incorporates promotion and relegation between the Champions Series and Challenger Series, a new-look international series and the return of match play at the Tour Championship.
As well as these structural changes, the Tour will also travel to several new locations as part of the revamp.
Financially, the stakes are higher than ever, too. 15 regular-season events will have prize purses worth $20m-plus, alongside the even more lucrative Players Championship and the four majors.
Purses are swelling across the board, partly because of natural commercial evolution and partly as a direct response to LIV Golf’s excess in recent years, which is now returning to haunt them.
So, where is the PGA getting the dough from to fund these sweeping changes?
Speaking at the U.S. Open earlier in the month, Rory McIlroy said: “There’s going to be certain events that might lose their stature if a sponsor doesn’t pony up $30 million.”
$30m is regularly cited as the minimum amount needed to fund a naming rights deal, which in turn funds prize money and commercial investment.
Speaking to Front Office Sports, PGA Tour chief commercial officer Dhruv Prasad said: “From my perspective, there’s no specific number that we’re looking for. It’s going to be market-by-market dependent.”
The same outlet reports that iconic locations like New York, Boston and Chicago are among the frontrunners to stage events, with five of the 15 Championship Series destinations yet to be finalised.
The nearest regular PGA Tour event to New York is the ongoing Travelers Championship in Connecticut, where Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland are facing off in the play-off later today.
Prasad also did not rule out a naming rights deal covering both tracks of the tour, which would be a first for the PGA.
“The options for commercialization are all on the table. And we’ll try to make the best decisions about branding and commercialization that we can.
“It’s important for the future of our system that we build our IP, as well, and that there’s a balance that we find between partner IP and our IP.”
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