Johnson Wagner shares the only solution for PGA Tour after Rory McIlroy skipped Memphis

With the Tour Championship no longer using staggered starting strokes, players just need to make it into the top 30. That means McIlroy could even choose to skip the BMW Championship if he felt like it.

Weighing in on the debate, Johnson Wagner argued that the PGA Tour should consider a rule change to prevent players from skipping future playoff events. Speaking to 5 Clubs, he said:

“My whole thing is FedEx has been such an integral part of the PGA Tour since 2007, with the inception of the FedEx Cup. And all of those who have played the tour or currently play the tour owe them a ton for our retirement accounts, for everything that we’ve gotten. And Rory’s a three-time champion of the FedEx Cup, you would like to see players [playing], and maybe the tour has to start mandating them.

“Unless you’re injured – I don’t know how you could mandate that, you could come up with an injury pretty easy – but if you don’t play, there are no bye weeks on the PGA Tour playoffs. If you don’t play, you’re out. I think that’s the only way to fix it.”

Why the PGA Tour does not need to panic over McIlroy’s absence from the FedEx St. Jude Championship

Of course, the PGA Tour will be disappointed that McIlroy will not be playing. While Scottie Scheffler is the best player in the world, McIlroy is arguably the biggest name.

Still, it is not a crisis for the Tour. 69 of the 70 players who qualified for the playoffs are set to compete this week, and given how many could realistically skip an event and still qualify for Atlanta, it could have been a much bigger issue.

The format of the Tour Championship is expected to change again next year anyway. So there is no reason for any immediate rule changes.

It would still make sense to require players to earn their spot each week rather than locking them in early. However, such a change should likely be postponed until the 2026 format is definitively established.