Rory McIlroy is no longer involved in the decision-making process on the PGA Tour having resigned his position as a Player Director in late 2023, so had not been privy to the discussions on shaping what the Tour will look like when it’s revamped in 2028 or what format the season-ending Tour Championship will take.
But unlike the rest of us, he was made aware of what plans were in store for the season finale last week and having had some time to digest the plans, he’s found them very much to his liking.
“Yeah, I think the PGA TOUR and the Future Competition Committee and Brian [Rolapp, PGA Tour CEO) and everyone involved have really taken on board what the fans have been calling for and have wanted, which is match play. Brian took me through the plan last week for the first time. I didn’t really know anything about it,” he admitted in his pre-tournament press conference at East Lake where he is gearing up for a tilt at a fourth FedEx Cup title.
McIlroy appeared after Rolapp had already broken down how the Tour Championship will be played out from 2028 onwards – the format can be viewed here – and he believes that the balance in the rewards for season-long excellence and for ending the season on a high will strike the right balance and give the fans what they’ve been asking for for some time.
“It’s certainly different. Two weeks, two different venues. But it’s cool. I think they’ve taken a big swing, and conceptually, I think I really like it,” he added.
“The first week will be great trying to get into that top 16, and then the second week, I think for me, one thing I said to Brian is you really want to win a few matches in that second week. It’s going to be hard for some guys to be playing match play and playing for 14th position or whatever it is.
“I think all the incentives are there, and the regular season champion is going to be adequately rewarded after that final stroke-play event, and then the TOUR Championship match play is going to be completely different. But I think it’s sort of a departure from what we’ve had the last few years, but I do think it’ll be a great thing.”
Though nobody has benefitted more financially from the FedEx Cup than McIlroy over the 20 years of its existence, McIlroy admits that golf isn’t necessary like other major American sports which are all defined by the post-season playoffs.
This new format, however, will add excitement to the season’s end and that’s what matters most to the fans.
“I’ve always argued, does golf need playoffs?” he questioned. “Yes, I get that other sports have playoffs, but arguably golf has its playoffs, they’re just not at the end of the season, they’re sort of interspersed in the middle of the season with the major championships. I think this is a more exciting way to end the PGA TOUR season.”
McIlroy went on to praise Rolapp’s straight-talking approach and admitted that he and the Tour CEO have been working on increasing collaboration with the DP World Tour in the background.
“I like his style of leadership. I like that he’s sort of no-nonsense. He’s very straight with everyone, with us, with you guys, and I think that’s obviously what you want in someone leading your organisation,” he said, and though he was not willing to go into specifics on how the collaboration may look, he did admit that there were a lot of accuracies in a report issued by James Corrigan at The Telegraph which laid out some of the groundwork.
“Some of it is close to the mark but not quite there, but yeah, I think if the PGA TOUR are going to play from February through to August, DP World Tour have five months where, with the help of the PGA TOUR and maybe some others, can really shine and really shine a spotlight on international golf and put on some of the biggest sort of international events in golf,” he explained.
Leave a comment