The PGA Tour is preparing for its most significant structural transformation in decades. CEO Brian Rolapp has announced a two-tier model for 2028: Championship Series and Challenger Series. Yet substantial questions remain about the season-ending FedExCup playoffs, which have largely remained unchanged for nearly two decades. And although the Future Competition Committee, chaired by Tiger Woods, has set a February 22, 2027 deadline for all details, New Zealand golfer Frank Nobilo feels the need for major improvement.
Speaking on the 5 Clubs show, Nobilo told Gary Williams that the PGA Tour never got the playoffs right. While he applauded the Tour for trying something different, it’s not enough for him.
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“I applaud what they tried for 20 years. Did they ever get it right? Not 100%, no. But we’ve had haul-outs at East Lake and some crazy things. I just wish that moved around. I really do think, if you know, Coca-Cola sells Coca-Cola everywhere in the world, right?” Frank Nobilo said on 5 Clubs.
“And I think when we got stuck into this, I applaud BMW; they were the only ones that really moved around and got exposed to different courses cuz I think it allows these cities, these golfing meccas, really, or areas that just love the game, and you start moving a championship around, and I think you just draw on that natural energy of newness. Sadly, we sort of went through the same recipe for sort of year after year without changing. So, I know it’s going to be blown up. I know it’s going to be different.”
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The FedExCup Playoffs debuted in 2007. It was the PGA Tour’s first attempt at a structured postseason. This created a season-long points race culminating in a three-tournament finale. Only two players in the 2026 playoff field—Justin Rose and Adam Scott—competed on Tour before the FedExCup’s 2007 creation.
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Over these years, the playoffs underwent two key changes. It started as a points-based system in which the player with the most FedExCup points after the Tour Championship won. From 2019, however, the PGA Tour introduced staggered starts, and the winner was the one who won the Tour Championship. In 2025, the PGA Tour removed the staggered start for drama.
Despite these changes, Nobilo believes that the Tour never got it right. And he’s not alone. Johnson Wagner, for instance, told Golf on CBS that there’s a lack of genuine drama. He even advocated for a complete points reset at the beginning of the postseason to create “true jeopardy.” Andy Johnson, founder of Fried Egg Golf, also noted that the FedExCup is just a fancy way of shuffling money into the top players’ hands.
But Frank Nobilo believes that all of this could change from 2028. While seeking a major overhaul, he said that he trusts the people “running the numbers.”
There are reports about a match-play format starting in 2028. The top 90 on the season-long points list will play the PGA Tour Championship Series Finale. The top 32 will advance to match play after Week 1. During Weeks 2 and 3, the top 32 will play a round-robin match in four groups (eight groups total), and the top two from each group will advance to the final week. In the final week, the top 16 will play a single-elimination bracket over four rounds. The final two undefeated golfers will battle to be crowned Tour Champion.
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Frank Nobilo is happy with the possibility of this change. But he is still concerned about one thing: losing some excellent venues to this overhaul.
“But there are things that we do very well, and you know, like I like the fact that we play a lot of venues, Minnesota, Detroit, all of that. There’s some really good golfing places. I will hate if those places go away. I know some of the Challenger Series we might go there. So I’m still ready to see the finished product before I judge,” he added.
The St. Jude Championship is already losing its status, and many sponsors, including Rocket Companies, didn’t renew their sponsorship deals because of the overhaul. So, while the change many professionals and fans asked for is coming, it could have some negative outcomes, too.
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The post “Did They Ever Get It Right?”: PGA Tour’s FedExCup Format Comes Under Fire as Calls for Major Overhaul Grow appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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