As the PGA Tour walks towards a format shift in 2028, the golf world has reacted to CEO Brian Rolapp’s vision. While several players have described the Tour’s congested new calendar as a lot to digest, Xander Schauffele‘s response has been sharp. The World No. 14 has endured painful hurdles over the last two years and bemoaned the Tour’s format, with his grievances dating back to 2023. Having faced unpredictable results in the current system, Schauffele’s perspective on the PGA Tour’s incoming overhaul aligns with its core intention.

Speaking in an interview with Trey Wingo, the Open champion believes the expectations are on par with competing at a professional level.

“Yeah. So I agree. It is very much, you know; he used the phrase, ‘You eat what you kill,’ which is sort of, I think, if you want to play professional golf and you’re not ready for that kind of language, then you probably shouldn’t play professional golf because it is a competition,” he said on the show.

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As announced by Rolapp, starting in 2028, the Tour will split into two tiers, the Championship Series and the Challenger Series. Top players will tee up at the Championship Series, while those in the lower tier will have to work their way up to compete with them. The system also integrates a formal protocol of relegation and promotion.

“It’s meritocracy. More so than any sport that I’m aware of. And that’s sort of, most of the time, how it’s going to be. There will be cuts in all the events. You play badly; you’re not making any money. And that’s how pro golf is,” Schauffele added.

The 10-time PGA Tour winner’s point boiled down to simply that golf has always awarded prizes based on performance, and he sees no reason for players to resent that. He supported Rolapp’s notion of measuring the field on results compiled between February and July. He further adds that the golfer with the strongest season-long body of work deserves the title more than anyone who suddenly finds form in a playoff. Under the current FedEx Cup format, a player can finish well outside the year’s most consistent group, then catch late fire and still walk away as a champion. Schauffele has deemed it a weak measure to determine the season’s best player.

This adds to his previous criticisms of the format. Three years ago, despite posting the lowest 72-hole score at East Lake Golf Club in the Tour Championship, he watched Dustin Johnson walk away as the champion, thanks to his pre-tournament ranking. Reflecting on the result and the format, he bemoaned that many people “feel like a little confused on how it all happens.”

That said, Schauffele’s latest opinion is not limited to other players. After a rib injury disrupted his early 2025 season, Schauffele returned in early March. He had shared feelings of intense pain even while sneezing or rolling on the bed. Despite the turmoil, he returned to the field to defend his PGA Championship title at Quail Hollow.

“But when you’re assessing yourself, I think it’s important, if you want to elevate your game, to be harsh. It’s easy to be biased and think you’re doing okay. So, yeah, that’s kind of where that maybe what seems to be a harsh assessment came from,” he said at the Valspar Championship 2025. But his recovery didn’t come without a cost.

Schauffele carried uneven form into 2026. He recorded a T4 at the Valspar Championship, following it up with a T9 at the Masters this year. However, he missed at the Truist Championship, posting a T60. Throughout this year, Schauffele has yet to record a win but maintains competitive form. Having endured a tumultuous campaign, his leaning towards a supposedly more stable system is hardly a surprise.

Schauffele is especially looking forward to what Rolapp’s revised format offers beyond accountability. The PGA Tour CEO has framed the restructuring partly as a fix for fans and players alike. The new policy aims to provide a clearer picture of what’s going on in the line each week, rather than a schedule and point structure that shifted from year to year.

“So, I think just having some framework that’s supposed to be set out for generations of golfers,” he stated. “I’m looking forward to sort of setting our feet in the sand and being able to say, “This is what we’re playing for. This is what it’s going to look like. This is what it’s going to be until I retire.”

Part of that framework includes trimming and tightening the top tier, which Schauffele expects will make the Championship Series matter more. In fact, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler has echoed the sentiment ahead of the Travelers Championship, saying that winning a Championship Series event will mean beating the top tier of the sport and will hold a “higher significance.”

Where does the Scottish Open fit in the new structure?

The Genesis Scottish Open is underway this week at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, drawing a field that includes Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, and defending champion Chris Gotterup. All the pros are teeing up for the final tune-up before the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.

With that, conversations around the upcoming policy overhaul have made rounds within the championship. While Rolapp has confirmed the Championship Series will run roughly 23 to 24 events, including the majors and signature tournaments, the Tour has not yet released a full breakdown of which current stops will make the cut and which will fall into the Challenger Series.

Co-sanctioned events like the Scottish Open are closely tied to the DP World Tour and the Open qualifying, and are particularly confusing spots.

The ambiguity has left players waiting for assurance, and many Tour pros seem insistent on safeguarding the event. Scottie Scheffler believes that no change in its placement is required, while Rory McIlroy calls it the fabric of the game and warns that it should be protected.

For now, the Tour has offered the framework without a finished map, as the pros get ready for the final major.