PGA Tour Commissioner Discusses Returning Member Program, Match Play Format, and Future of
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Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, PGA Tour commissioner Brian Rolapp explained the Returning Member Program isn't being considered at this point that would allow LIV golfers an opportunity to back on the Tour.
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ESPNNo gimmes: PGA path for LIV pros not promised PGA Tour CEO/commissioner Brian Rolapp said the tour has no current plan to bring back LIV golfers Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith.
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From 2028, the PGA Tour's Tour Championship will be played in a match play format, but what will that look like? And how will players qualify for the event? Watch this week's Tour Championship live on Sky Sports Golf from Thursday
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ESPNPGA Tour postseason to conclude with match play The PGA Tour's future postseason will include a Championship Series Finale -- a 72-hole, stroke-play tournament that will finalize the points list and determine the season-long champion -- followed by match play over two weeks.
BBC SportThe revised play-offs are only part of the changes coming to the PGA Tour in 2028 with a Championship and Challenger series to be established with promotion and relegation between the two.
CBS SportsFans wanted something else. That is where PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp entered the fray, leading the charge for a -- two weeks of match play across two renowned golf courses. From 32 players at the onset of the postseason in group stage competition to 16 players competing in a bracket format, a legitimate Tour Champion will be crowned each season starting in 2028.
Reuters SportsPGA Tour overhauls post-season, moving to match play format in 2028 - Reuters PGA Tour overhauls post-season, moving to match play format in 2028 Reuters
SMH SportBrian Rolapp, the PGA Tour chief executive, had previously revealed that the circuit will undergo a radical revamp for the 2028 season, with the Tour splitting into two tiers – the championship series and the challenge series. But nobody knew what would happen to the end-of-season play-offs.
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"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. "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."
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BBC Sport"I think the PGA Tour and the Future Competition Committee and Brian and everyone involved have really taken on board what the fans have been calling for and have wanted, which is matchplay," said the Northern Irishman, 37.
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The FedEx Cup play-offs have have gone through numerous iterations across their two decades, presently consisting of a three-event strokeplay series which begins with the top 70 players from the season-long points list.
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Sky SportsFrom 2028 onwards, the current series of FedExCup Playoffs, which are played in a stroke play format, will be replaced by:
CBS SportsFor the last 20 years, golf fans have grown accustomed to the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup Playoffs. Players would compete throughout the regular season, earn designated points for tournament finishes and either secure their place in the postseason or fall short.
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In truth, the concluding Tour Championship, which takes place in Atlanta from Thursday (local time), has never satisfied, with several iterations – always strokeplay – having not much success in helping the event live up to its grand billing and the $US10 million ($13.9 million) first prize.
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BBC SportThis week's concluding Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta will have a $40m (£29.3m) purse, and while the events have undoubtedly been lucrative for players, there have been consistent questions regarding fan engagement.
Yonhap SportsWith the total purse of $40 million, the Tour Championship is the most lucrative tournament of the year. The winner will take home $10 million.
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"I'm hearing there are more players wanting to leave LIV than want to stay," Faldo told BBC Sport.
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SMH Sport“I don’t honestly know what’s going to happen, but my goodness, the so-called 2.0 is going to be pretty weak if it carries on,” Faldo said. “I’ve heard there’s more players trying to leave LIV than trying to stay.”
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But Faldo is clear that it should not be overly easy for LIV players to walk straight back onto the DP World Tour.
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SMH SportFaldo declared that any LIV player wishing to return to the DP World Tour should “eat humble pie” and “go back to tour school”. However, Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Adrian Meronk, Tom McKibbin and others have paid fines and remained Tour members, so that will not happen.
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LIV's 2026 season ended last Sunday in Indianapolis after this week's cancellation of the breakaway tour's Team Championship in Michigan.
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Bleacher ReportThe 2026 LIV Golf season ended one week early with an event in Indianapolis over the weekend because the planned team championship event in Michigan that would have been played from Aug. 27-30 was canceled.
6 details only one outlet reported
Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 CBS Sports Rory McIlroy made waves earlier this year at the U.S. Open whether the coming in 2028 was really necessary, saying that the old tour format was "pretty good" in hindsight.
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02 SMH Sport Hosting the World Cup this year has clearly made a big impact across American sport, with the PGA Tour announcing it will copy the format of the tournament in what will be the longest golf tournament ever staged in the professional game.
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03 Yonhap Sports By Yoo Jee-ho SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Yonhap) -- Two South Korean players will tee off at an exclusive-field PGA Tour playoff finale this week, with the winner's prize money of US$10 million on the line.
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04 Bleacher Report Despite the uncertainty about LIV Golf's future, the PGA Tour is not planning to offer players who left to join the upstart circuit a path back.
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05 BBC Sport "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."
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06 Sky Sports "Throughout this process, we listened carefully to our fans, players and partners," PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolapp said.
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- bbc-sport
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