Irony of the year: Tiger Woods built golf's new elite tour, and he might not qualify for it

Tiger Woods has spent months shaping the future of the PGA Tour, but the future he helped design may not have a place for its own architect.

Details: Tiger Woods faces a difficult path to the PGA Tour's new Championship Series, which launches in 2028, the Mirror reports. The 50-year-old legend, a member of the Tour's policy board, would need to qualify for the elite tier through the season-long points list, a tall order given his limited playing schedule in recent years.

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The revolution Woods co-authored is historic: starting in 2028, the PGA Tour splits into two tiers, an elite Championship Series of around 15 regular season events with 72-hole formats and cuts to the top 65, and a secondary Challenger Series with reduced prize money, with the postseason even set to feature match play weeks. Woods, who returned to the policy board in recent weeks after stepping back following his arrest earlier this year, presented the overhaul alongside CEO Brian Rolapp and called it the best version of the PGA Tour. But here is the personal catch: access to the top tier runs through performance, and the 82-time PGA Tour winner has barely played competitive golf since his latest injury setbacks and personal turbulence. Unless exemptions are carved out, and Tour officials have hinted at career-based pathways, the man with 15 majors could watch the league he redesigned from the outside, or from the boardroom. At 52 by the time the new era begins, Woods now has two seasons to play his way into his own creation.

It's worth noting that Woods' 82 PGA Tour victories remain tied with Sam Snead for the most in history, and no active player is within 50 wins of that mark.

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