Rory McIlroy Set To Escape PGA Tour Punishment Thanks To 'Discretionary Rule'

Although Rory McIlroy seems certain to fall short of playing the minimum 15 tournaments on the PGA Tour this year he's never seemed worried.

Sir Nick Faldo ran into McIlroy at Royal Birkdale, where he was prepping for The Open instead of playing at the Travelers Championship - a theme for him this year as he looks set to fall short of playing the PGA Tour minimum.

But McIlroy has never seemed concerned. Could that be because he already knows that CEO Brian Rolapp and the PGA Tour won't take any significant action against him that could affect his status for 2027?

A report by Bob Harig would suggest that could be the case, as when he discussed the prospect of the PGA Tour bending the rules to keep McIlroy's status, Ponte Vedra got in touch.

In truth, McIlroy was never going to budge from his stance of playing exactly when and where he wanted, and the PGA Tour was never going to punish its biggest star.

According to Harig, though, we now know the reason McIlroy would escape punishment, as he says the PGA Tour contacted him to point out the following crucial rule in the player handbook.

“Notwithstanding the above, the Commissioner, upon application by a foreign member and for medical reasons or other extraordinary circumstances that the Commissioner, at his discretion, determines to be a valid reason for not playing in at least 15 PGA Tour cosponsored or approved tournaments, may reduce the 15-minimum (or 12-minimum as the case may be) tournament requirement.”

What that means is that if and when McIlroy falls short of playing the minimum 15 events this season, there's a rule in place to allow Rolapp and the PGA Tour to let him retain his playing rights for 2027.

Just what the "extraordinary circumstances" would be are unclear, and Golf Monthly has contacted the PGA Tour for comment.

McIlroy has had an injury this year that forced him out of the Arnold Palmer Invitational but he returned for The Players before resting between Sawgrass and the Masters.

He still had plenty of practice trips to Augusta National though and since then has chosen to skip PGA Tour events in favor of both moving back to a new house in the UK and preparing for Majors.

And McIlroy still has chances to make up his minimum 15, with the 3M Open, Rocket Classic and Wyndham Championship taking place after The Open and before the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

If he plays all three playoff events he'll get to 14 without taking in one of those previous, so it is within his power - but he is sticking to his guns of playing exactly when and where he wants.

"I've been doing this a long time, I've been on Tour longer - more than half of my life at this point," McIlroy has said about his schedule.

"So I'll pick and choose my spots like I have been doing sort of the last 18 months to two years."

So it seems certain he'll fall short, but also seems certain there'll be no serious punishment from the PGA Tour for it - after all, with all the changes coming Rolapp would not want to be involved in an altercation with his biggest attraction.

Especially a star attraction such as McIlroy, arguably the biggest in the game who seems determined to make his schedule how he wants it - which includes more global appearances.

The 37-year-old will play in Ireland, India and Australia this year along with the regular visits to Wentworth and Dubai - and has previously said around 18-20 events in a year is his target number.

What do you think? Should Rory McIlroy be punished if he doesn't play the minimum PGA Tour events or is he a special case? Let us know by joining the conversation below...