Earlier this week, the PGA Tour launched its eligibility criteria for its renewed two-tier system that launched in 2028. The top-tier “Championship Series” features fields of approximately 120 players and there will be cut-and-dry promotion and relegation at the end of each season.
In other words, things will be simple. I’m not alone either.
A surprising thing is how many players have already secured their places in the 2028 season. Because this happened in real time, some exemptions were ingrandfathered, which makes the details of the “transition year” much more compelling. Even ignoring the “Career Milestone” category (more on that later) there are about 40 players already eligible. Let’s run through 10 that we know are in — plus a couple of giant question marks — to get a sense of what’s to come.
Shout out to Twitter super-user Robopz, who compiled it this handy chart of exemptions and worth following.
1. Alex Smalley
Is it Alex Smalley a recent tournament winner, what would make him the most familiar owner of a two-year exemption? It is not. But Smalley made it to the 2026 Tour Championship; crack that the top 30 gave him a two-year exemption, which ensures that he (and Patrick Cantlay, and Ryan Gerard, and Yes Woo Kimand others…) will be here for year 1 of the new series.
2. Brooks Koepka
Brooks Koepka‘s departure from LIV Golf seems to have been a masterclass in timing. Because Koepka left when he did and struck a deal with the PGA Tour, he was able to rally in real time — and preserve future eligibility even as LIV falls into bankruptcy.
So how is Koepka in 2028? He can take advantage of his five-year exemption to win the 2023 PGA Championship. He also has a Career money list exemption in his back pocket (again, more on this later) that all but guarantees that we will still see him in 2029.
3. Brian Campbell
Under the revamped future system, winners will receive two-year exemptions, but you won’t be able to “stack” winnings. Under the current system, though? Brian Campbell‘s surprising two wins 2025 he earned them three the exempt status of years – which takes him to 2028.
4. Max Homa
Speaking of exemption-stacking: Max Homa he hasn’t won since the 2023 season, but because he was winning so often at that point, he has accumulated enough eligibility to reach the five-year maximum, which qualifies him for 2028 as well – lowering the pressure he will have to face next season.
5. Alex Fitzpatrick
The victory that keeps on winning: Alex Fitzpatrick and his older brother Matt teamed up for a dramatic Zurich Classic win this year that gave him PGA Tour status, he gave up entry into this year’s Signature Events and now also entry into the 2028 Championship Series.
6. Steven Fish
Because of the way the rules are written, every PGA Tour winner from 2026 will enter the top tier for 2028 — even winners of alternate events. This means Steven Fishwho won this year’s ISCO Championship, is in Ricky CastilloPuerto Rico Open winner, plus Brandt Snedekerwho took the Myrtle Beach Classic.
7. Whoever wins this week
This fall’s winners can also participate in the good times parade; starting with this week’s Biltmore Championship, any winner this FedEx Cup Fall will also earn a spot in that 2028 Championship Series.
8. Aaron Rai
It is not surprising to see Rai’s name on this list, but it is worth noting how exempt he is: the maximum of five years, until 2031.
Rai picked a good year to win his first major championship. Under the new system, winning the major championships earns players only a two-year exemption, the same advantage as winning any other event on the Championship Series schedule. But Rai’s five-year exemption was upheld. This is true for his fellow 2026 grand champions. Rory McIlroy, Wyndham Clark and Ryan Fox – that they all have better job security than whoever wins the majority in 2028. (They will only be exempt until 2030).
9. Jordan Spieth
I could have made an entire list based purely on this category – the Career Money Leaders you dig – but let’s leave it Jordan Spieth serves as a stand-in here to explain that any player in the top 50 on the Tour’s career money list who competes in 15 PGA Tour events in 2027 can then use a one-time waiver to ensure they have a spot in the 2028 Championship Series.
Spieth is unlikely to need this waiver — we expect him to hit the top 95 and earn his way in that fashion — but at 10th in career earnings, he can hang on to that get-out-of-jail-free card once for future use.
It will be fascinating to see how other players in the top 50 all-time handle this rule. Will Tony controversy (No. 23 all-time) need to use his exemption, given that he has been out of shape? Will Webb Simpson (No. 24) add a few more events (he played only 11 and 10 the last two years) to hit that minimum of 15 to qualify for the big Tour? Every chance Luke Donald (No. 43) get extra Ryder Cup scouting and play 15 events in the United States in 2027 to earn his spot? Will Vijay Singh is he really going to leave and make 15 starts on the PGA Tour just to punch his ticket to 2028? (No, but it would be kind of fun…)
Most won’t need it, but I expect this carve-out will serve as a lifeline for at least a few big-name players. Among those not exempted for 2028: Spieth, Jason Day, Matt Kuchar, Rickie Fowler, Zach Johnson, Tony Finau, Webb Simpson, Lucas Glover, Billy Horschel, Harris English, Sungjae Im, Luke Donald…
10. Tiger Woods
I mentioned Singh mainly in jest, given the (ridiculous) controversy surrounding his Sony Open start this season. But so what Tiger Woods? Given his health, his ongoing recovery and his work helping to strengthen the Tour, Woods has a lot going on that isn’t golf. But it’s worth wondering if the most iconic golfer of his generation will have a place in the league he helped reimagine.
You’ll remember that there was a specific carve-out for Woods in the Signature Event model; 80-time winners get a free pass for life. It’s gone, which leaves Woods facing a minimum of 15 events in 2027 to be able to use his career free pass for 2028.
But that’s where Woods could rely on a medical evaluation by an independent panel to earn an exemption – which could have played into his choice of 2028 events, after all.
And then there is…
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3 players with a cloudy state
While we’re on the subject of eligibility, it’s worth spending a moment on players in limbo, including these three:
1. John Rahm
Jon Rahm‘s weird golf in Wentworth – a missed cut 78-77, perhaps the worst performance of his career – began the strangeness of his current circumstance. It is the largest creditor in the bankruptcy case of LIV, it faces an uncertain future and the CEO of the PGA Tour, Brian Rolapp, was not clear about the additional paths of the LIV golfers. Some signs have Rahm interested in a return to the PGA Tour, but there may be mountains of paperwork between now and then.
(But if he does return, he could use the five-year exemption he earned from his 2023 Masters title to play in the Championship Series.)
2. Bryson DeChambeau
Bryson DeChambeau he’s in the same general boat as Rahm, just with an extra year of hypothetical eligibility (DeChambeau won the 2024 US Open) and a slightly more pronounced enthusiasm for LIV 2.0. DeChambeau’s future is one of the biggest unanswered questions in golf.
3. Kevin And
Here is a particularly dark case; Na is No. 42 on the Career Money list and was reinstated to that list after rejoining the PGA Tour following his removal from LIV. This means that if he competed in 15 events next season, he could take advantage of that exemption and play the Championship Series in 2028. But could he play 15 events next season? Na has yet to return to the PGA Tour game, and when I asked the Tour’s communications team here was part of their response:
His membership was resumed; however, he is currently subject to disciplinary action for violating PGA Tour Rules.
I was not able to get more details on Na’s specific violation nor when this “disciplinary action” will expire. But you can add his schedule to the oddities that come with starting a new league as one with layers of complex history — and exemptions — play out in real time.
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