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Rory McIlroy was not in the listed field for next week’s Travelers Championship — the PGA Tour’s final signature event of the season.
What does that have to do with anything?
Well, as national golf writer Bob Harig noted on social media Friday, it makes the math difficult for McIlroy — who teed it up on Tour for just the ninth time this season at this week’s U.S. Open — to reach the 15 event minumum required of PGA Tour players given his traditional schedule. If he only plays the Scottish Open, The Open and two playoff events, the No. 2 ranked player in the world will be at only 13 events on the season.
If McIlroy falls short of the 15 event minimum, Harig noted the star will lose his PGA Tour membership for next season. That doesn’t mean he can’t play on the Tour. He could play as a non-member and still compete in a number of events on other exemptions, on top of the majors for which he’s already qualified.
But should McIlroy — who’s intentionally lightened his schedule in recent years to create a better life balance — wish to maintain membership and all the benefits that come with it, such as competing for the Tour’s season-long championship, he’ll need to add two more events to his schedule.
That include include tournaments in the fall season, though that seems unlikely given it’s the time of year when McIlroy, who grew up in Northern Ireland, plays high-profile events in Europe on the DP World Tour.
And then there are the three events between The Open Championship and the FedEx Cup playoffs — the 3M Open, the Rocket Mortgage Classic and the Wyndham Championship. McIlroy could play in two of those events and be compliant.
Playing in the Rocket Mortgage Classic and the Wyndham Championship leading into the playoffs would lead to an abnormally long, extended run of tournaments for McIlroy. More likely, he’d elect to play the 3M Open, take a week off and then play in the Wyndham Championship.
McIlroy has never teed it up at TPC Twin Cities.
Should McIlroy, the two-time defending Masters champion and career grand slam winner, commit to the tournament in Blaine, he’d be the second megastar to do so. Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world, is already committed to play in Minnesota in July.
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What does that have to do with anything?
Well, as national golf writer Bob Harig noted on social media Friday, it makes the math difficult for McIlroy — who teed it up on Tour for just the ninth time this season at this week’s U.S. Open — to reach the 15 event minumum required of PGA Tour players given his traditional schedule. If he only plays the Scottish Open, The Open and two playoff events, the No. 2 ranked player in the world will be at only 13 events on the season.
If McIlroy falls short of the 15 event minimum, Harig noted the star will lose his PGA Tour membership for next season. That doesn’t mean he can’t play on the Tour. He could play as a non-member and still compete in a number of events on other exemptions, on top of the majors for which he’s already qualified.
But should McIlroy — who’s intentionally lightened his schedule in recent years to create a better life balance — wish to maintain membership and all the benefits that come with it, such as competing for the Tour’s season-long championship, he’ll need to add two more events to his schedule.
That include include tournaments in the fall season, though that seems unlikely given it’s the time of year when McIlroy, who grew up in Northern Ireland, plays high-profile events in Europe on the DP World Tour.
And then there are the three events between The Open Championship and the FedEx Cup playoffs — the 3M Open, the Rocket Mortgage Classic and the Wyndham Championship. McIlroy could play in two of those events and be compliant.
Playing in the Rocket Mortgage Classic and the Wyndham Championship leading into the playoffs would lead to an abnormally long, extended run of tournaments for McIlroy. More likely, he’d elect to play the 3M Open, take a week off and then play in the Wyndham Championship.
McIlroy has never teed it up at TPC Twin Cities.
Should McIlroy, the two-time defending Masters champion and career grand slam winner, commit to the tournament in Blaine, he’d be the second megastar to do so. Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world, is already committed to play in Minnesota in July.
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