Rory McIlroy deals bad news to PGA Tour as he lays out 2025 schedule plans
Rory McIlroy deals bad news to PGA Tour as he lays out 2025 schedule plans
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Rory McIlroy says he intends to significantly cut back his schedule this season in a fresh blow to the PGA Tour. The tour has endured a difficult start to the year, with star players Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Jordan Speith among those to miss events through injury. McIlroy, meanwhile, started his season on the DP World Tour playing the Dubai Desert Classic and will make his first appearance of the year stateside at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Thursday.
TV viewing figures were already a concern for the PGA Tour heading into the new season. Those fears were realised with disappointing audience numbers from the four events so far this year, summed up the final round of The American Express on January 19 suffering a 60 per cent year-on-year dip in viewership.
The tour relies on its biggest stars to drive fan interest and McIlroy's intent to play less golf this year is sure to be unwelcome news for the bosses at PGA Tour HQ in Ponta Vedra Beach, Florida. The Northern Irishman played 27 events across the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Olympic games, but he plans to cut down and spend more time at home.
The cuts, he says, will be made from his PGA Tour schedule because he "likes playing in Europe," and he will look to play the minimum number of events required to keep his card. "So the minimums, I still have to play my 15 events on this tour, so I'll make sure I fulfil my minimum here," he explained on Tuesday. "I played 27 events last year.
