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The PGA Tour warned they’re heading into a ‘dangerous’ situation with Rory McIlroy

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The PGA Tour warned they’re heading into a ‘dangerous’ situation with Rory McIlroy

Originally posted on HITC | By Jordan Harris | Last updated Jun 1, 2026 4:00 PM ET

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The Memorial Tournament has added significance this year, with Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy playing in the same signature event for the first time since the Arnold Palmer Invitational in early March.

Jack Nicklaus’ event is one of the highlights of the PGA Tour season. Muirfield Village provides one of the most thorough tests on the circuit, with many players likely to have one eye on the US Open later this month.

The Memorial also provides an increasingly rare opportunity to see the two best players teeing it up at the same PGA Tour event.

The problem the PGA Tour faces with Rory McIlroy as he prepares to make his return at the Memorial

Rory McIlroy has not played since the PGA Championship, while Scottie Scheffler‘s most recent appearance at a signature event came at the Cadillac Championship.

None of the last three signature events have had both McIlroy and Scheffler in the field. And some see that as a warning for the PGA Tour.

Of course, the tour is gearing up for big changes from 2028 onwards. Brian Rolapp is planning to introduce two tracks of events. Rolapp is ideally looking for all of the biggest stars to feature at every elevated tournament on the schedule.

However, speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast, Ryan Lavner suggested that it is going to be a monumental task to get full buy-in from all of the marquee names.

“That’s why I do not envy the members of the Future Competitions Committee, again, some of whom are active players on the PGA Tour because you’re trying to decide for the overall membership what is going to work best. What’s the best cadence for all these players? The best players in the world, I think, have even a different schedule than some of the superstars of the PGA Tour. And I’m talking about Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler,” he said.

Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

“Rory, in particular, I think, is a particularly dangerous player to try to game plan around and to strategise around, counting on him in any future scenario in terms of playing opportunities and when’s this going to happen and the golf courses and the tournaments. It’s just really, really tricky. He’s an international player who has made no bones that he absolutely loves playing on the DP World Tour and really cherishes those opportunities, particularly at the end of the year when he can give back to the tour that gave him his start. And so he’s not going to play certain tournaments.

“I think he proved heading into The Masters this year when you and I were lambasting him at every chance that he needed to add a start in between The Players Championship and The Masters, ‘nah, I’m good, fam’. ‘I’m good taking three weeks off, heading into a major championship and winning that one, skipping signature events, skipping tournaments in sort of a chunk or a block’. And so I think it’s really, really difficult how they’re going to map it out.

“But again, I think it is a sign of the times. And even though these signature events were marketed and built on the idea, we want to get the best players in the world together more often, this would be just the fourth time this year, 2026, again, it’s June first, four times all year that Scottie and Rory are going to be together.”

Rory McIlroy leaves the PGA Tour with a dilemma

McIlroy does not appear to be intentionally trying to make a statement with how he has put together his schedule this year.

Ultimately, the results speak for themselves. He won The Masters after nearly a month away from playing in a tournament. The Northern Irishman has finished outside the top 20 on just one occasion this year.

So if McIlroy feels that playing in PGA Tour events is not the best way to prepare for the majors, he is not going to fall in line just to appease Rolapp.

Not having McIlroy playing regularly would be a big blow to the PGA Tour. The game does not have many superstars right now, but the 37-year-old is certainly one of them.

Having said that, McIlroy is now in the second-half of his career. The PGA Tour probably cannot afford to make too many concessions to accommodate the six-time major champion if they are convinced that the two tracks are the way forward.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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