CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA | Two scenes, two principals, one answer.
On Tuesday night at The Puttery – an upscale, golf-themed night spot in this city’s vibrant South End district – Rory McIlroy made his first public comments since missing the cut at the Masters then skipping the RBC Heritage the week after, triggering a $3 million penalty for bypassing a second designated event, a program he helped create.
Looking refreshed and sounding relaxed during a FedEx-related event, McIlroy was forthright, understanding what he sacrificed for himself at the end of a long, grinding run.
“I obviously knew the consequences that could come with missing one of those. It was an easy decision,” said McIlroy, who knew that not meeting the required number of starts in designated events meant not getting the final 25 percent of his $12 million payout from the 2022 Player Impact Program.
“I had my reasons not to play Hilton Head. I expressed those to (PGA Tour commissioner) Jay (Monahan) and whether he thinks that is enough to warrant … again, I understood the consequences of that decision before I made it so whatever happens, happens.”
On Wednesday morning, Monahan – wearing a blue hoodie with a Quail Hollow logo – stood among a cluster of reporters and reconfirmed that McIlroy won’t be given a pass for his absence in Harbour Town.
Call it setting a precedent or just following the rules, but Monahan isn’t letting McIlroy off the hook.
Asked specifically whether the policy will be applied to McIlroy, Monahan said, “Correct.”
He went on to say, “For the tournament participation, when we made the commitment to this schedule with the Player Impact Program, we adjusted for one opt out. For any second opt out, you forfeit the 25 percent unless there was a medical (reason). Based on that criteria, it’s fairly cut and dried,” Monahan said.
Whether McIlroy is the only player who fails to meet the scheduling requirements this season remains to be seen. The Memorial Tournament and the Travelers Championship are designated events along with the three remaining major championships and the FedEx Cup playoffs, spots where all of the top players are expected to play.
While McIlroy is an example of the stringency of the tour’s one-year, mandatory participation model, it will change again next year when there is no requirement for the top players to compete in all but one of the designated events.
As Monahan awaited the start of the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club (the ninth designated event/major championship this year), the initial success of the designated events has reinforced his belief that the tour’s new structure is not just succeeding but is thriving.
Monahan stopped short of saying the designated events will retain that status long term, but it sounded that way.
While it will be a few months before the 2024 tour schedule is released – it will mark the return to a true calendar-year schedule after years of a wraparound schedule – Monahan expects it to appear very similar to how it looks this year.
Most of the designated events this year are expected to have the same distinction next year, though the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am will likely replace the WM Phoenix Open as a West Coast designated event. There will also be one fewer designated event next year by design.
Monahan stopped short of saying the designated events will retain that status long term, but it sounded that way.
“I think when we do announce the schedule, it’s more likely that those events that will be in those positions will be in those positions on a long-term basis,” Monahan said.
The commissioner also believes the top players will participate in most, if not all, of the designated events without being required to do so.
“When we announce the schedule itself and you look at the cadence, when you look at the consequence in terms of FedEx Cup points and what purse sizes are going to be and the concentration of the top players and them being able to compete against each other in those field sizes, my confidence is high.
“Does that mean every single week every single player is going to show up? In our model there will likely be things that happen, injury and extenuating circumstances. I can never give you 100-percent confidence, but we’ve tried to create the right parameters and construction. That’s what the players wanted, that they will show up.”
The biggest change – and it’s still a subject of discussion – is whether the designated events will have smaller fields with no cuts or remain essentially as they are.
Tiger Woods suggested earlier this year that he would like the Genesis Invitational, which he hosts, to retain a cut. The Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Memorial Tournament, hosted by Jack Nicklaus, have also been mentioned as designated events with larger fields. Monahan made it sound as if that won’t happen.
“Our preference is that the designated events would be no-cut events. We’re in the middle of figuring all of this out so you have to consider all that input. We’ll get back together with our (Player Advisory Council),” Monahan said.
“I had a conversation with Tiger last week about it. For the changes we’re looking to make going into next year, to have all of our top players there, for our fans to know at the beginning of the week, as soon as the event is on the calendar, the players are going to be there all four days. From an onsite standpoint to a television standpoint, there’s a real benefit to it.”
“I needed some time to regroup and focus on what’s ahead. The last 12 months with everything that’s went on, it’s been a big 12 months.” – Rory McIlroy
There have been instances this year where non-designated events had noticeably weaker fields. With a goal of putting two to four non-designated events together in schedule blocks and with the top five players in that stretch elevating themselves into the big money events, Monahan believes the potential problem will solve itself.
“They are starting to see that by reducing the size of the field at these designated events, these full-field events are going to be well positioned going into next year. Overall it’s been positive,” Monahan said.
Monahan and McIlroy had another thing in common this week: both are looking forward.
“I needed some time to regroup and focus on what’s ahead,” McIlroy said. “The last 12 months with everything that’s went on, it’s been a big 12 months.
“It was nice to have three weeks to put all of that stuff in the rearview mirror and try to focus on what’s ahead. Three more majors, the entire golf season still to play.”