Rory McIlroy’s comments about The Players Championship not needing to be recognised as a major probably did not go down well with everyone at the PGA Tour.
Over the years, there has always been talk about where The Players fits in the golfing calendar. Some would already consider it the top event outside of the majors. But earlier this month, the PGA Tour seemed to push things further.
They put out a trailer for The Players with the tagline: ‘March is going to be major’. Not everyone agreed with that approach, and McIlroy was one who might have chosen different wording.
The PGA Tour may not be happy with what Rory McIlroy had to say about The Players Championship
McIlroy, speaking before the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, said he does not think The Players needs to be turned into a major.
In that context, Ryan Lavner – speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast – suggested that the PGA Tour’s effort to boost The Players’ status might not get very far.
“Everyone, in my opinion, should be viewing this campaign very sceptically of why this year are we declaring it a major when last year it was not? The PGA Tour does not have the authority to make it one because no one does,” Lavner began by saying.
“There is no organising body that can just rubber stamp it and be like, ‘yeah, good argument, we’re going to make this a major championship’. You mentioned that it’s going to be the players who decide, and I do agree with that to some extent.
“I do think they’re trying to use the media as well to bolster the reputation, to get this discourse going, see if there can be some sort of group consensus, group think, where ultimately: ‘okay, you’re right, we’ve heard enough and we’re just going to elevate The Players Championship into a major’. It’s the same idea with sports-washing and what LIV Golf was trying to do. Now they’re just trying to do major-washing, and just force-feed to you until you eventually just relent and just be like, ‘okay, let’s call it a major’.
“I do think from Rory’s perspective, it was very interesting where you have no worse than the second most important player on the PGA Tour saying, ‘no, I’m not going to follow along. I’m the defending champion of this tournament, and yet I don’t think having won the Career Grand Slam that it still matches up to that level’.
“I think that was an astonishing admission, and if you’re PGA Tour HQ, that’s a full facepalm moment like, ‘we have some serious work to do if at worst our second most important player feels this way’.”
Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson appear to agree about The Players Championship
There are not many issues in the game today that unite McIlroy and Phil Mickelson. Of course, plenty of people feel that Phil’s reputation has taken a hit since he joined LIV Golf.
But after Brandel Chamblee called The Players ‘the best major’, Lefty pushed back on the statement. Like the Northern Irishman, he also has a win at TPC Sawgrass.
The comment from Chamblee felt out of place. While there is some debate about where the PGA Championship stands these days, it is tough to imagine anyone picking The Players over either The Masters or The Open.
The overwhelming majority of golf fans probably would not mind if the PGA Tour’s showcase event stayed just as it is now.
But if those at Ponte Vedra keep pushing the idea that The Players deserves to be a major, they are going to face more resistance.
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