No, Rory McIlroy isn’t going to lose his PGA Tour status. At least, that’s what he’s banking on as the 2026 campaign wraps up.
McIlroy is in the field at this week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship, which kicks off the three-leg FedExCup Playoffs. McIlroy is already locked in for the final two events, too, which will bring him to 14 total Tour stops on the year.
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That, however, is one shy of the minimum amount required for McIlroy to maintain dual membership with the Tour and the DP World Tour. In theory, the Tour could take his status away in 2027.
But so far, McIlroy said he has had “productive” discussions with new PGA Tour commissioner and CEO Brian Rolapp about the issue.
“Brian and I have been in constant dialogue, basically since he took the job last year,” McIlroy said from TPC Southwind on Wednesday, via the Golf Channel. “I think we’ve built up a really good relationship and we’ve had a couple of conversations last week about what I can do with the Tour going forward to fulfill the obligation to keep my membership.”
Even if McIlroy didn’t find a way to work with the Tour, it’s hard to imagine the league would do anything in this situation. McIlroy is the No. 2 golfer in the world, behind only Scottie Scheffler, and is undoubtedly among the biggest names in the sport. He’s fresh off back-to-back Masters wins and has won 30 times on Tour in his career.
Oh, and he was the face of the Tour amid its fight with LIV Golf in recent years. Having McIlroy playing on Tour is undoubtedly a massive benefit for the league.
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Rolapp also has a clause in the Tour’s tournament regulations to allow exceptions to the 15-tournament rule “for medical reasons or other extraordinary circumstances.” According to ESPN’s Mark Schlabach, a decision hasn’t been made in McIlroy’s case as the season is still ongoing.
McIlroy has played 11 times so far on Tour this season, most recently at the British Open when he finished T40 at Royal Birkdale. He will play in six other DP World Tour events after the Tour Championship, too, including at the Irish Open, the BMW PGA Championship, the Australian Open and the DP World Tour Championship. Finding a time to play in a FedExCup Fall event to get to 15 Tour events feels unlikely.
“We’ve had productive conversations, we’re figuring it out and it will all be fine. It will be a little bit of work between us,” McIlroy said. “Especially with the strategic alliance with the DP World Tour I sort of pride myself on being a global player. I’ve got a lot of golf left this year after these events.”
McIlroy has four top-10 finishes in his 11 starts on Tour this season, most recently with a T7 run at the Genesis Scottish Open. He’s entering the playoffs at No. 12 in the Tour’s standings, roughly 2,400 points behind Scheffler, who’s in first. The top 50 after this week’s event in Memphis will advance to the BMW Championship next week in St. Louis.
“This is a good week,” McIlroy said. “Obviously I want to play well, but it’s also a good week to just see where my game is at, do a lot of practice, or as much as I can in the heat.
“I think it’s important to be here. It’s the Tour’s playoffs, and I think it’s important for all the players to be here.”
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