Rory McIlroy is not a fan of the PGA Tour’s anticipated two-tier structure.
CLIFF HAWKINS, GETTY IMAGES
Rory McIlroy leveled criticism at the PGA Tour’s anticipated adoption of a two-track competitive structure, likening tournaments expected to wind up on the tour’s second track to “glorified Korn Ferry” Tour events.
“I just think there’s going to be certain events that might lose their stature if a sponsor doesn’t pony up $30 million. So that’s the tough thing,” McIlroy said last Tuesday during a news conference ahead of the U.S. Open, citing the RBC Canadian Open as a potential example.
In McIlroy’s view, the situation is an outgrowth of the disruption sown by LIV Golf, whose own future is now in doubt.
“You start to realize that the way the tour was before LIV came along was actually pretty good,” he said. “It was a pretty good structure, and everything sort of worked pretty well.
“LIV created this false economy where we had to up prize funds and had to cut fields and try to support the top players and all that stuff, which I think needed to happen because that was the only way to retain talent at the time, but now that LIV looks like it's less of a threat, I think, as I said, the old ways of the PGA Tour weren't actually that bad.”
PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp is expected to reveal more details about the changes coming to the tour in 2028 on Tuesday at the Travelers Championship. READ MORE
“I’m not proud of it, but yeah, I mean, sometimes, you know, all the expectation of trying to play well and things doesn’t go your way, you get frustrated, and that was me there.”
Joaquin Niemann, after being penalized two strokes for violating the U.S. Open’s code of conduct by throwing a club on the sixth hole (his 15th) at Shinnecock Hills during the first round. He wound up with an 11 on the hole. READ MORE
OCTAVIO PASSOS, GETTY IMAGES
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has put a lending facility in place to fund LIV Golf while the league pursues new investors, the Money in Sport newsletter reported last Thursday, citing company filings in Jersey and the United Kingdom.
U.K.-based LIV Golf Ltd. filed a 48-page debenture agreement dated June 4 providing security to the Saudi PIF as the league’s lender, the report said.
The PIF announced recently that it would cease backing LIV Golf at the end of this season. The league has four tournaments remaining on its 2026 schedule: LIV Golf UK (July 23-26), LIV Golf New York (Aug. 6-9), LIV Golf Indianapolis (Aug. 20-23) and the LIV Team Championship Michigan (Aug. 27-30). READ MORE
Four of the world’s top five players – Scottie Scheffler, Matt Fitzpatrick, Cameron Young and Russell Henley – will headline the field this week at the Travelers Championship, the last PGA Tour signature event of the season.
World No. 2 McIlroy will not play in the tournament at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut. It will be the third signature event he has missed this year.
Ben James, a Connecticut native who recently earned his PGA Tour card by finishing first in the PGA Tour University rankings, will compete on a sponsor exemption in his home state. READ MORE
Tap-Ins
The U.S. Open awarded a purse of $22.5 million, an increase of $1 million over last year’s payout. That amount, which the USGA announced last Wednesday, matches this year’s Masters as the highest purse among golf’s major championships. Winner Wyndham Clark took home $4.5 million. READ MORE
Motor City Golf Club has joined WTGL, the women’s indoor simulator league featuring LPGA players that will launch later this year, it was announced last Wednesday. The Detroit-based team has an ownership group led by principals Michael Hamp, Peter Hamp and Kevin Kelleher, the same group behind the soon-to-debut team of the same name in the men’s TGL. READ MORE
The PGA Tour has brought in Tennis Australia as a partner for the 2028 Presidents Cup at Kingston Heath Golf Club near Melbourne, the parties announced Wednesday. Tennis Australia will support the operational, experiential and commercial delivery of the biennial match, drawing on its experience running the Australian Open, according to the announcement. READ MORE
England Golf has renamed its 2026 LET Access Series tournament the Women’s English Open, it announced, with an eye toward eventually establishing the event on the Ladies European Tour. READ MORE
Compiled by Mike Cullity
