McIlroy: Pendulum swinging back in PGA Tour's direction

Rory McIlroy believes the pendulum has swung more in the PGA Tour's favor with the return of Brooks Koepka from LIV Golf and Patrick Reed set to leave the Saudi-funded league and be virtually assured a tour card for next year.

"I'm all for anything that makes the PGA Tour stronger, and those two guys coming back make the PGA Tour stronger," McIlroy said Tuesday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am, his first competition on American soil since Europe won the Ryder Cup last September in front of a hostile New York crowd.

McIlroy, who went from being one of the harshest critics of LIV Golf to wanting to see some form of reconciliation, said he mainly cares about the PGA Tour putting together its best product.

He has spoken about LIV players getting to the end of their original contracts, which included big signing bonuses, and the uncertainty whether they get a similar payoff, or at least one that satisfies them. Reed could not come to an agreement with LIV when he decided to leave.

Meanwhile, the PGA Tour has started a player equity program and is working toward a revamped schedule geared toward a series of big events.

"I think everything that's happened over the last few years, it forced the tour to think about things differently — create these signature events, but then rethink the entire schedule and what's going to happen from 2027 and beyond," McIlroy said. "I think the guys over there are maybe seeing that, and it might entice them a little bit more."

While he wants a stronger tour, he wasn't buying the PGA Tour's subtle renewal of the dialogue on whether The Players Championship is a major.

McIlroy has won it twice, most recently a playoff over US Open champion J. J. Spaun last year. The PGA Tour released a promotion last week that ended with, "March is going to be Major". The Players Championship returned to its March date in 2019.

"I think The Players is one of the best golf tournaments in the world. I don't think anyone disputes that or argues that," McIlroy said. "But ... I'm a traditionalist, I'm a historian of the game. We have four major championships. If you want to see what five major championships look like, look at the women's game. I don't know how well that went for them."

The LPGA Tour added the Evian Championship in France as a fifth major in 2013 to avoid losing a tournament with one of the larger purses at the time.

The first year, it was reduced to 54 holes. That was also the year Park In-bee went to St Andrews for the Women's British Open with a shot at the calendar Grand Slam, only for it to spark debate whether it was a Grand Slam because the Evian was still to be played.

Among those who have skipped the Evian over the years are Lexi Thompson and Stacy Lewis.

Asked whether finally winning the Masters or getting a road Ryder Cup victory was more difficult, McIlroy replied: "The Masters was more me against myself, and the Ryder Cup was me against 50,000 New Yorkers. It's a little different."

He mixed it up with a New York crowd, at one point telling fans to "shut the (expletive) up".

Agencies Via Xinhua