Rory McIlroy On What PGA Championship 'Needs' To Regain Its Identity
The PGA Championship has received criticism in recent years for an apparent lack of identity, but Rory McIlroy has a solution
We’re well and truly into Major season with the PGA Championship coming hot on the heels of The Masters.
At this time of year, it’s not unusual to compare the four Majors in men’s golf, with one regular debate being which is the biggest and best of them all.
The answer is entirely subjective, with each having prestige and characteristics that appeal to some more than others.
While the PGA Championship has some elements that make it unique, such as the absence of amateurs and inclusion of PGA professionals, one criticism leveled at it in recent years is that it still lacks the clear identity of the other three.
Indeed, many fans struggle to define exactly what the PGA Championship represents, with some even finding it difficult to distinguish it from a regular PGA Tour event.
It’s not just golf fans either, with one player who believes the PGA Championship currently lacks a clear identity being two-time winner Rory McIlroy.
Before the 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Northern Irishman even went as far as to say that a non-Major has a stronger identity than the PGA Championship.
When asked about whether it was time for The Players Championship to attain Major status, he responded: “I think The Players is one of the best golf tournaments in the world. I don't think anyone disputes that or argues that.
Rory McIlroy gave his thoughts before the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
"I think from a player perspective it's amazing. I think from an on-site fan experience it's amazing. It's an amazing golf course, location, venue.
"But it's The Players. Like it doesn't need to be anything else. Like I would say it's got more of an identity than the PGA Championship does at the minute.”
One theory on what’s to blame for the PGA Championship’s apparent identity crisis is its shift in the schedule from August to May, which came in 2019.
That’s a school of thought McIlroy subscribes to. Asked what the identity of the tournament should be, he was adamant: “I think glory's last shot. I think it needs to go back to August.”
Rory McIlroy has won the PGA Championship twice
It’s not the first time McIlroy has suggested the PGA Championship should be moved forward three months.
Back in 2023, when the event was held at Oak Hill Country Club, he made a similar point, saying: “I always liked in August that this was glory's last shot and there was a real identity there.
“Not saying that it's lost any of that identity in terms of it's still a Major championship, but I feel like having it be the last Major of the year maybe just gave it a little bit of something that it doesn't quite have right now.”
Do you think McIlroy is correct? Or is there something else that could be done to give the PGA Championship a stronger identity? Let us know in the comments.
