Rory McIlroy Backs New Match-Play Tour Championship Format

Rory McIlroy said he supports the PGA Tour's new match-play Tour Championship, days after commissioner Brian Rolapp briefed him on the plan. Starting in 2028, the Tour Championship will run over two weeks at different venues, with 32 players qualifying through the season points list and half advancing to the second week. The shift marks a departure from the stroke-play era, not a tweak to it.

What did Rory McIlroy say about the new format?

"I think they've taken a big swing," McIlroy said of the redesign, adding that he only learned the details from Rolapp the week before it was announced. He said the format will be toughest on players who advance to the second week only to play for a mid-table finish rather than push for the title, since match play rewards winning rounds over accumulating strokes. Under the wider PGA Tour restructuring, a top-level Championship Series and a Challenger Series will replace the current schedule tiers, with the season-long points winner recognized at a new PGA Tour Championship Series Finale held before the Tour Championship begins.

The shift marks a departure from the stroke-play era, not a tweak to it.

How does McIlroy think this affects the DP World Tour?

McIlroy said the new PGA Tour calendar, which is expected to run from February through August in 2028, could free up the fall and winter for the DP World Tour to host marquee international events without competing for attention. He suggested the DP World Tour could shift its own season finale into January, allowing players to compete in the Middle East or elsewhere before the PGA Tour season begins. McIlroy, who plays roughly 20 to 22 events worldwide each year and keeps a lighter PGA Tour slate to support a heavy fall international schedule, said that balance is unlikely to change.

What did McIlroy say about equipment regulation?

Asked about the golf ball rollback, which regulators confirmed in June will not take effect at any level before January 2030, McIlroy said he still wants equipment reined in at the elite level. He argued recreational players should be left alone under any change, but said he favors a bifurcated rulebook that regulates professional equipment more tightly to keep marquee courses relevant for competition.