The PGA Tour announced Thursday that the RBC Heritage tournament, held annually at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, will join the Championship Series starting in 2028. This addition marks the ninth regular-season event confirmed for the new top-tier series, which is part of significant changes to the tour schedule.
These sweeping changes, initially announced in June by PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp, will take effect in 2028. The new structure introduces a Championship and Challenger Series, incorporating promotion and relegation where players will move between levels based on their seasonal performance. The Championship Series is expected to feature 23-24 events, including major tournaments and The Players Championship, with field sizes of at least 120 players and prize purses of at least $20 million.
Other confirmed Championship Series events for 2028 include The Sentry, which will move to Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, California; the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Florida; the Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral in Miami, Florida; the GO by Raymond James at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina; the Truist Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina; the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio; and the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut. The RBC Heritage will be sponsored by Boeing as part of its new status.
Beyond the regular season, the Tour Championship format will also undergo a major overhaul. The current Tour Championship will be replaced by a three-part conclusion, starting with the PGA Tour Championship Series Finale. This 72-hole stroke-play event will feature the 90 players who have retained their PGA Tour cards, with the season-long points leader crowned the regular-season champion. The top 32 players from the finale will then advance to a revamped Tour Championship, which will introduce match play for the first time. These 32 players will be divided into eight groups of four, with the top two from each group moving to a 16-player knockout bracket at a different venue to determine the Tour Champion. This new structure will result in two distinct titles awarded at the end of the season: a season-long points champion and a match-play Tour Champion.
The PGA Tour anticipates these changes will create a more dramatic and compelling end to the season, requiring players to advance through multiple stages for the ultimate prize. The two-week match-play event will also rotate among prestigious venues, offering new locations for the season-ending tournament. These adjustments represent one of the most significant alterations to the PGA Tour schedule in recent years, aiming to elevate the importance of every tournament.
