Tony Jacklin "In Total Agreement" With McIlroy's European Tour Decision

The four-time Ryder Cup captain supports McIlroy's potential move to give up his European Tour card

Tony Jacklin "In Total Agreement" With McIlroy's European Tour Decision

At the DP World Tour Championship, Rory McIlroy revealed that his schedule next year may only include two European Tour events.

That would mean McIlroy playing in just 10 European Tour events, accounting for eight majors and WGCs, and therefore he'd be giving up European Tour membership.

He'd also be giving up the chance to become a Ryder Cup captain one day due to a rule that states players must remain European Tour members every season.

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McIlroy said “I guess my thing is that I want to play against the strongest fields week in and week out, and for the most part of the season that is in America."

His current rumoured schedule is to include the Scottish Open due him wanting to play in the week before all of the majors next year, and the European Masters which is sponsored by his sponsor Omega.

The four-time major winner was criticised for his decision, with 2014 Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley calling it "quite extraordinary" and "very disappointing."

However, McIlroy has received support for his potential PGA Tour-only 2019, with two-time major winner and four-time Ryder Cup captain Tony Jacklin one of them.

Jacklin told Reuters, "I'm in total agreement with his decision.

"He must have no regrets about what he's trying to achieve in his career and from his point of view he's got to be where the best players are. I don't see anything wrong with that.

"You've only got one life and you don't want to be looking back with regrets. The best tournaments are all that matter to a top golfer, all the other stuff is unimportant. The majors are the be-all and end-all for the great players and Rory is obviously a great player."

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Jacklin went on to say that people close to him with their own interests influenced him to remain in Europe which harmed him.

Read Jacklin's thoughts here

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