Golf will be undergoing many changes starting next year, with a huge schedule change set to take effect as well as impending changes to rules and competition. According to Rory McIlroy, however, there could be an even bigger change in the midst.
McIlroy, now the no. 8 player in the world, failed to qualify for the Tour Championship this weekend and gave an interview to the popular golf podcast “No Laying Up.” In that interview, McIlroy claims that the PGA TOUR and the European Tour have been in discussions about possibly combining forces under one large circuit.
Being a player that participates in both tours as a professional, Rory believes the idea makes too much sense not to eventually happen in the near future. “To have all these tours competing against each other, and having to change dates, it’s counterproductive,” McIlroy said. “I think everyone has to come together.”
John Dargan, Captain, Mount Wolseley Golf Club, Gary Butler,…
John Dargan, Captain, Mount Wolseley Golf Club, Gary Butler, Tournament Director, European Challenge Tour, Sheena McCanny, Sales & Marketing Director, Mount Wolseley Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort, Julien… Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images
On face value, it seems preposterous that two completely different golf tours would be able to combine, especially since they are played on different continents. Analyzing the idea, however, makes it seem less crazy. For the European Tour, they are losing many of their top players, like McIlroy, to the PGA TOUR and their larger prize pools. The PGA TOUR is also dominating their European counterparts in sponsorships.
For the PGA TOUR, McIlroy believes buying out the European Tour would be a wise investment and the PGA could just take it over. In his plan, McIlroy outlines the idea of having 12 big European events that would be played outside of the major, U.S. PGA TOUR events. This would allow the European Tour to still exist as an entity but they wouldn’t be in competition with the PGA TOUR and would all be under the same control.
Regardless of if McIlroy is right about this possibility, a merger like this would be several years in the making at the very least. Until then, it will be interesting to hear if any similar rumors pop up in the future.
Cover Photo via Twitter
