Schwab, a longtime PGA Tour supporter and title sponsor of the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial since 2019, is considering whether to elevate its 2028 sponsorship to push the Colonial tour stop into the highest tier.

PGA Tour’s New Competitive Model

The PGA Tour has introduced a new competitive model, dividing its annual schedule into two tiers: the Championship Series and the Challenger Series. The top tier, the Championship Series, will feature purses of at least $20 million and the tour’s top players.

The second tier, the Challenger Series, will play its tournaments simultaneously to the Championship Series and feature purses of at least $4 million and players vying to get into the highest tier. The stratification is part of the PGA Tour’s reaction to the threat of LIV Golf, a Saudi-backed venture that tried to peel off the world’s top players with promises of huge purses.

Implications for the Colonial Tour Stop

Which tier the Colonial event falls into would have dramatic implications on visibility, appeal to sponsors, advertisers, and fans, and the tournament’s charitable giving each year. The Colonial tour stop has a rich history and tradition, having started in 1946 and being the Tour’s longest-running tournament to have been played on the same course.

Representatives from the Fort Worth tournament and Schwab declined to be interviewed for this story. The PGA Tour has said that the remaining events will either be filled by existing events or new markets under consideration, such as Boston, Denver, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.

Original reporting: Fort Worth Report — read the source article.