The PGA Tour has been warned it is making a real error by pushing for the top players to not play in any track two events, following Rory McIlroy’s comments about the mooted split ahead of the US Open.
McIlroy was asked about the prospect of playing on a PGA Tour that is split into two tiers, with Brian Rolapp attempting to get all of his marquee names playing together much more often.
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The Northern Irishman is no stranger to having his comments follow him. And McIlroy labelling track two events as glorified Korn Ferry Tour tournaments is certainly likely to be remembered for some time.
The PGA Tour warned about plans for two tiers following Rory McIlroy’s comments
Track one obviously has the potential to be fantastic. Tournaments with larger fields that maintain the star power of signature events make a lot of sense.
But there are concerns about how the PGA Tour can make track two successful.
Promotion and relegation will certainly help. However, it is intriguing that track one players will reportedly be strongly discouraged from playing in track two events.
With that, you can understand McIlroy’s dismissal of the tournaments.
Speaking on Dan on Golf, journalist Alan Shipnuck suggested that McIlroy is correct in his comments – though he has to take some of the responsibility.
“That was harsh, but not totally inaccurate. They are going to be very starless fields. That seems where we’re heading [with no tier one players in the fields]. I think it’s a mistake,” he said.
“Give every tier one guy three or four tier two starts, either their favourite tournament, their hometown, whatever it is. You’ve got to bring them out a little bit. Rory has won the Canadian Open twice. He doesn’t want to not be able to go back.
“This is just part of Rory’s quasi-heel turn. He basically created this structure. He was the guy who reshaped the entire PGA Tour on the fly with the signature events, small purses, no cut, big money. Now he’s seeing, a bit like Frankenstein’s monster, he’s lost control of it, and it’s rampaging through the village. All these knockdown effects on what the tour’s going to look like are unpleasant. And I think he has some buyer’s remorse.”
The PGA Tour could be facing a huge problem with Rory McIlroy
The PGA Tour has definitely got a problem when it comes to McIlroy’s availability.
The 37-year-old has played an incredibly limited schedule so far this season. He has played in just two PGA Tour events since The Masters.
And as he gets older, it would not be a surprise if he plays even less golf on the PGA Tour – particularly with his family moving to Wentworth recently.
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That is not going to work with the PGA Tour’s push to have the star names playing at almost every single track one event in the new-look calendar.
McIlroy has shown that he does not need to play regularly to contend at the majors. He won The Masters having done most of his practice at Augusta National itself.
If the PGA Tour demand that he plays more if he wants to stay on track one, it would not be a surprise if McIlroy told them that he would not be sticking around.
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