Rory McIlroy delivers ‘unpopular’ opinion that will make PGA Tour ‘best of the best’

Rory McIlroy has been one of golf’s most vocal stars over the state of the sport in recent years, and the Northern Irishman believes his latest opinion will not be a popular one

Rory McIlroy has risked the wrath of some of his fellow players, after the four-time major winner called on the PGA Tour to hand out less playing cards moving forward.

McIlroy is currently competing in this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, hoping to secure his second win at the renowned Bay Hill course.

After shooting a two-under-par 70 in the second round on Friday, the golfer from Northern Ireland spoke about his thoughts on the future of professional golf.

“And as usual, the man from Northern Ireland was willing to express his viewpoint, even if he knew it might not be popular.

He stated, “I believe in making it tougher and more competitive” regarding the PGA Tour.”

[I] Probably won’t be very popular for saying this, but I’m all for less players and less Tour cards, and the best of the best.” McIlroy was discussing the PGA Tour’s Signature Event format, which has seen a group of tournaments receive elevated status, along with £16 million ($15m) prize purses.

Only three of those implement a 36-hole cut, one being this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, as well as the Genesis Invitational and the Memorial Tournament, hosted by Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus respectively. McIlroy too discussed whether he felt the elevated events should include a cut, claiming that if that is the wish of the tournament host, then that is more than good enough for him.

Yeah, I was indifferent,” he added. “I think, when all these signature events were thought of, we were thinking no cut, but if it’s important enough, or if it’s that important to Tiger and Jack and if Arnold were alive, if it was important enough for him, then it’s their tournament, at the end of the day, and they can do whatever they want.

“I could have went either way, but if it’s important enough to those guys, then we’ll have a cut.” If he is to land his second victory at Bay Hill this week, the Northern Irishman will have to put in quite the weekend performance, as he currently sits six shots off the leading pack.

On Friday, there were positive signs of improvement, which seemed to be a result of his efforts on the putting greens. The Northern Irishman was spotted putting in extra practice with his putter after scoring a frustrating one-over 73 the day before.

He mentioned feeling an improvement in his putting, even though he was unsure about the statistics. I didn’t focus on many things. In terms of speed, I felt like my speed was slightly off.

The greens appear faster than they actually are, so I am trying to be more confident with my speeds. Additionally, I worked on a few minor adjustments. Sometimes, I tend to rely on the mallet because it is easier to line up, which can make me a bit lazy.

Last night, I decided to practice my putting stroke with a blade putter to understand how to start the ball on line with a regular putter. I also focused on transitioning from the back swing to the through swing in my stroke. Today, my putting felt much improved after working on it.