There’s a rarely acknowledged undercurrent among the top players on the PGA Tour. Many of them love playing in America and are reluctant to travel far to hone their craft. However, it’s hard to fault them. America is the largest television market, where the Tour’s history is rooted and where most big-money sponsors originate.
But is professional golf in America nearing its peak in terms of viewership, sponsorship, or overall popularity?
Rory McIlroy certainly believes so—or at least he did in January 2024, when he spoke at length about the need to globalise the professional game. His aim was to tap into underserved but growing markets—fans, sponsors, and media—in the golfing world.
During his visit to Dubai 16 months ago, McIlroy explained that he envisions a global tour, not one fragmented or even split three ways between America, Europe, and wherever LIV Golf plays. Such a tour would spend significant time in America but also visit Australia, Singapore, East Asia, the Middle East, South Africa, and beyond.
“If everyone is talking about growing the game,” McIlroy said, “especially if investors are entering our sport and seeking a return on their capital, I think we all need to start thinking more globally.”
That was him talking the talk, awaiting confirmation of that investment. Now, over a year later, he’s walking the walk.
In the past 10 days, McIlroy has added several autumn events to his schedule, some of which he has rarely, if ever, played before. Last week, he made a two-year commitment to the Australian Open, starting this December at Royal Melbourne and continuing through the following December at Kingston Heath. These are two of the world’s finest golf courses—recent and future Presidents Cup hosts—and the event is one of the premier golfing occasions on the annual calendar.
The Australian Open, played over 100 times since 1904, boasts one of the richest histories among national opens worldwide. This aligns with McIlroy’s campaign to prioritise national opens. He believes modern players should value them as much as their history warrants. More than ever, McIlroy’s upcoming schedule reflects this commitment.
McIlroy is not currently listed for next week’s Memorial Tournament (though he has 48 hours to change that) but will compete in the Canadian Open the following week—one of the PGA Tour’s cherished national opens. Next comes the U.S. Open at Oakmont, a major but also a national open. After that, McIlroy is committed to the Travelers Championship in Connecticut before taking a two-week break ahead of another national open: the Scottish Open.
While the Open Championship isn’t technically a national open, it’s deeply personal for McIlroy. Royal Portrush is as close as he’ll get to competing where he grew up (aside from last year’s Irish Open at Royal County Down). Following the Open, he’ll enter the FedEx Cup Playoffs, though he may skip the first of the three events in Memphis, as he hinted in November.
McIlroy’s national open tour continues in September with the Irish Open at The K Club, which is confirmed. He’s also likely to play the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth a week later—not only because it’s the DP World Tour’s flagship event but also because McIlroy has been building a house in the affluent neighbourhood near Wentworth Club.
A potential Bethpage Black scouting or team-bonding trip may feature in his late August or early September plans. If not, he’ll head to the Ryder Cup soon after. Following that, he’ll likely take a break, but it won’t last long. This week, it was announced he’ll play a new event in India, the DP World India Championship in New Delhi, which could be considered a national open. It will mark the first time a reigning Masters champion has played in India. The reception is expected to be enthusiastic, much like when Bryson DeChambeau, the reigning U.S. Open champion, visited in January.
Although the India announcement followed his recent Masters win, it’s unrelated to showcasing the green jacket in a new location. McIlroy’s decision to play in India was made long ago. In fact, the promotional video released on Wednesday was filmed on 15 January in Dubai, at the start of the 2025 season.
What does this tell us? McIlroy’s 2025 is largely following a planned script. Last autumn, he promised to scale back his PGA Tour schedule. He did so in the spring, and over the next seven months, he’s likely to play seven DP World Tour events and only a handful in the United States. The only question now is whether the green jacket will join him on this journey.
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