'It's Supposed To Be Competitive. Supposed To Be Cutthroat' - McIlroy Gives Verdict On Playing Opportunities For Upcoming PGA Tour Pros

Rory McIlroy has admitted that opportunities to reach the PGA Tour and stay on it are getting harder for Korn Ferry Tour players and those going through Q-school following schedule changes for the 2024 season. However, he thinks that's the inevitable result of efforts to make it more competitive.

The 34-year-old is preparing to compete in his third PGA Tour event within a month at this week’s Cognizant Classic at PGA National, the latest start in his bid to be as ready as possible for April’s Masters.

While the World No.2 has an abundance of tournaments to choose from when it comes to planning his schedule, though, for many players lower down the pecking order, it’s not as straightforward.

With opportunities to not only gain a foothold on the PGA Tour but keep a card more limited following changes put in place for the 2024 schedule, McIlroy acknowledged the frustration of the affected players. He said: “Yeah, seems like it's getting more difficult to get your card and it seems like it's more difficult to keep your card, especially with this sort of tiered system now we have on Tour.”

Nowadays, PGA Tour events follow a “cadence” that sees its highly prestigious – and more exclusive – limited-field signature events played between full-field tournaments, which don’t offer as many FedEx Cup points. Not only that but there are several opposite-field tournaments taking place at the same time as the signature events, which offer even fewer points.

Korn Ferry Tour graduates have also seen their opportunities to compete in PGA Tour events limited because of the higher priority given to players who earned a card via the DP World Tour. For example, January’s Sony Open in Hawaii saw 14 of the 30 Korn Ferry Tour graduates needing to go through qualifying to have a chance of a place.

Despite those limitations, McIlroy pointed out that there have been success stories in the opening weeks of the season. He continued: “I mean, I understand it, but then you look at what Nick Dunlap did at Amex or what Jake Knapp did last week, I get that you need the opportunities, but when you do get those opportunities, you just need to go out there and play well.”

McIlroy also admitted that, even though it’s tough, it’s one of the trade-offs of trying to make the Tour more competitive. “It’s sort of hard for me to speak to it because I've fortunately never been in that position,” admitted McIlroy. “And it's hard to sit here and be like stay patient, because it's tough.

“But it's supposed to be tough I think is the thing. It's supposed to be competitive. Supposed to be cutthroat. And I think that's sort of what we're trying to make the Tour, is more like that, so that you try to make the most competitive product that you can.”

McIlroy also said he was going to give Talor Gooch "the benefit of the doubt" after his comment saying a Masters title for the 34-year-old this year would have an "asterisk."

McIlroy is in a group with defending champion Chris Kirk and Knapp in the opening two rounds of the Cognizant Classic. The three go out at 7.40am ET (12.40pm GMT) in round one, with a 12.40pm ET (5.40pm GMT) start in round two.