Big changes are coming to the PGA Tour, and they start in 2028. Commissioner Brian Rolapp explained the plan right before the Travelers Championship. The Tour will split into two levels: a Championship Series and a Challenger Series, and the new elite tier is expected to have no sponsor exemptions at all.

Lucas Glover likes that idea. On Trey Wingo’s podcast, the six-time PGA Tour winner said sponsor exemptions were useful when they helped a local player or a veteran with a strong story. But the new system should be about pure merit.

“I agree,” Glover told Trey Wingo. “The championship series, you're going to have on average 120 players per week playing, and those sponsors are getting the best we have to offer that season. So, the sponsor exemption to a sponsor was an opportunity to enhance their field."

He added in Trey Wingo’s interview: “ Now it's all a meritocracy, which again was what Brian wanted to get into this thing. If you earn it, you’ve earned it. And I like that.”

A sponsor exemption is a special invite. It lets a player into a tournament field even if he has not fully qualified through normal ranking points, wins, or standings. That can help a young prospect, a comeback story, or a fan favorite.

But it also means the decision is subjective. And that is why the topic has stayed hot for years.

Since the Signature Event era began in 2024, sponsor exemptions have gone to more than 76 different starts across the top events. Gary Woodland leads the way with seven. Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler, Webb Simpson and Jordan Spieth are next with six each, while Billy Horschel has five before May 5, 2026.

That is where the criticism has grown. Some players have felt the invites turned into a popularity contest.

And the optics got even worse when board members were among the players receiving them. In 2024 at Pebble Beach, the sponsor-exemption decisions for board members Peter Malnati, Adam Scott and Webb Simpson drew sharp reaction from players.

The Tour wants a cleaner system

Rolapp has been direct about why exemptions don't survive the transition to the Championship Series. The PGA Tour CEO framed it as a return to golf's core identity.

"Golf has an amazing tradition of meritocracy, probably the best sport in the world that I can see about you earn what you earn, and you do it inside the ropes, and you're rewarded for it, and our athletes are conditioned that way. I think we got away from that," Rolapp said before the Travelers Championship.

"One thing we heard consistently from fans and partners and even members of the PGA Tour, we need to get back to the meritocracy. I think this system delivers on that promise."

However, sponsor exemptions remain part of the 2027 season. So there is one more year of debate, one more year of questions, and one more year of players wondering who gets a free pass and why.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Md Saife Fida

Edited by

Shubhi Rathore