The PGA’s response to LIV Golf has not been without its issues.
The latest has arisen this week, when Rory McIlroy withdrew from the RBC Heritage Open, one of the PGA Tour’s 17 designated events this year.
McIlroy’s decision came after he missed the cut at The Masters with a disappointing 4-over performance through two rounds.
Many have questioned the wisdom of scheduling a designated event with a $20 million purse the week after the first major of the season.
McIlroy had already withdrawn from the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the first designated event of the season.
So, unless there is a legitimate medical reason for the latest withdrawal, McIlroy could lose a percentage of his Player Impact Program reward, which goes to the players garnering the most interest from fans on social media.
On Netflix’s “Full Swing” documentary, McIlroy was shown expressing surprise over making the designated events mandatory at an August players’ meeting, where the future of the Tour was plotted.
“I don’t know if Jay [Monahan, PGA Tour commissioner] has communicated this to you but the mandatory [clause] — there’s been a lot of blowback on that by the guys in the room,” McIlroy told PGA Tour exec Andy Pazder. “They were sort of blindsided by it. That’s sort of the feeling. We knew there were going to be four new elevated events but we didn’t know they were going to be mandatory.”
McIlroy may not be the only one frustrated with the grind of the new PGA Tour format. Jordan Spieth blamed some questionable decisions at The Masters on the grind of the schedule.
“I think I played way too much golf into this,” said Spieth, who is in the field at the RBC Heritage, according to Golf Digest. “I came in mentally fatigued, and you overwork this week every year. I played way too much golf in the last — I mean, this is eight out of 10 weeks.
“So I need to change my schedule up going forward to be a little sharper this week. I think that has a lot to do with it.”
Jason Day, Alex Noren and Will Zalatoris, who had season-ending surgery, also withdrew from the RBC.
There are more controversial changes coming in 2023 for the PGA Tour. Most notably, designated events will be limited to 70-80 players, with a no-cut format.
That has frustrated some players, who felt they will be cut out of the most lucrative tournaments of the season while the PGA Tour caters to the stars.
“There’s going to be some players within the membership that feel aggrieved that they might not get into events that they historically have gotten into,” McIlroy said when the rules changes were announced in March.
“But there’s one thing that changes that and that’s just to shoot the scores. This is a merit-based system, it always has been and it will continue to be. The players that play the best and shoot the scores are the ones that are going to benefit from the changes.”
The RBC Heritage Open will tee off at Harbour Links in Hilton Head Island, S.C., on Thursday.
