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Rory McIlroy is defending his Irish Open title this week (Sam Barnes/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
This is the second straight week in which the PGA Tour is off following the Tour Championship, and this time of year is when the DP World Tour has a chance to breathe and gain some traction.
Coming off the picturesque views in Switzerland at the Omega European Masters — Thriston Lawrence won in a playoff over Paul Casey — the circuit now heads this week to the Amgen Irish Open, where Rory McIlroy defends a title he won in dramatic fashion a year ago.
For all the talk about McIlroy not meeting his PGA Tour minimum this year (he will only play in 14 of the 15 required events), part of that is due to his home circuit commitments.
McIlroy has backed the PGA Tour’s idea of leaning into international opens at this time of year, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out as the tour has been vague about its plans.
“We certainly have a strategic alliance with the DP World Tour which we are actively working to improve and change and extend,” said PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp of the deal that the tour entered into with the DP World Tour in 2021. “We continue to have those conversations.”
How that will potentially look is unclear. Rolapp has been focused on getting the new Championship/Challenger Series model in place for 2028. Along with that comes many other aspects, including how the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai standings will be impacted. Presently, the top 10 in the final standings who are not otherwise exempt earn a PGA Tour card for the following season.
McIlroy has suggested that this time of year offers an opportunity for the DP World Tour to shine with the backing of the PGA Tour from September through January. And McIlroy even considered the idea that some PGA Tour players might take up dual membership.
“I would hope so,” McIlroy said at the Tour Championship. “I think with what the PGA Tour has been through with changing its competitive model and its structure, I think if the DP World Tour could do something similar, where you host all of your best events in that five-month time frame, it would allow guys to take up membership, to then have something to play for at the end of the DP World Tour season, if they choose to do that.
“Because this (PGA) tour is not starting until February it looks like in 2028, that means you could put the final events of the DP World Tour season in January. So people could actually go over, whether it’s to the Middle East or elsewhere, to play those final two events, if that was something that was interesting to them, and then also could be at their first couple of events of the season to make sure they’re ready to go for the Championship Series in 2028.”
Also in today’s DD …
Folds of Honor Collegiate enriched by links to Nicklaus’ American Dunes
Georgia Tech men, Kansas women lead FOH Collegiate
Getting some buy-in from PGA Tour players would seem imperative to this idea. It’s not difficult to become a member of the DP World Tour — only four events other than the majors are required for membership — and most players are not going to take off all the time from September until February and let their games atrophy.
Perhaps the PGA Tour will offer some incentives to take up dual membership. Or add a few of these international events to a global schedule as McIlroy has been doing for years.
The two-time Masters champion is playing this week as well as next week’s BMW PGA Championship, the DP World Tour’s flagship event at its Wentworth headquarters. He’s also scheduled to play in India, twice in the Middle East and later this year in Australia. It is possible he adds the Dunhill Links in Scotland.
The run through Europe and Asia now is an impressive mix of tournaments that has already seen the DP World Tour play the Nexo Championship in Scotland followed by the British Masters in England, the Euro Masters in Switzerland, now Ireland and then England for the BMW.
From there, it’s the French Open, followed by the Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland — played at St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns — before the Spanish Open and the DP World India Championship. There is then one event in South Korea before the season-ending playoff combo in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
As it stands now, the DP World Tour begins its 2026-27 season in late November, with the Australian Open as a co-sanctioned part of that stretch.
“I think if the PGA Tour are going to play from February through to August, DP World Tour have five months where, with the help of the PGA Tour and maybe some others, can really shine and really shine a spotlight on international golf and put on some of the biggest sort of international events in golf,” said McIlroy, who said he’s spoken to Rolapp on this subject.
“Going forward, I think the PGA Tour’s commitment to the DP World Tour is wonderful, and some of the things and tournaments that they’re trying to create at the end of the year, that’s really, really exciting for a dual member especially, someone that is proud of coming from what once was the European Tour and trying to elevate some of these national opens and international golf.
“So I certainly appreciate the willingness of Brian and the entire sort of team at the PGA Tour to help elevate those and make them bigger and better tournaments.”
How will that occur? Still to be determined.
A word from Folds of Honor
This week’s Daily Drive newsletter is being sponsored by the Folds of Honor Collegiate, a 54-hole event that began Monday at the Jack Nicklaus-designed American Dunes Golf Club in Grand Haven, Michigan.
The venue for the tournament is an interesting story itself. It was redesigned by Nicklaus on the site of the former Grand Haven Golf Club and opened in 2021 with the purpose of supporting the Folds of Honor and its mission to provide educational scholarships to the children and spouses of fallen or disabled military service members and first responders.
Nicklaus did the work for free, donating his entire $3 million design fee to the Folds of Honor, founded by Lt. Col. Dan Rooney. The 6,832-yard layout plays to a slope rating of 133 and is now in its fifth year of hosting the Fold of Honor Collegiate tournament.
Nicklaus said the tournament has “evolved into a premier event on the college golf calendar, and a great deal of credit goes to Lt. Colonol Dan Rooney. It was his vision, passion and perseverance that led to the creation of American Dunes. The golf course is a very special one, and a good test of golf. More important, since opening in May 2021, American Dunes has donated almost $10 million to Folds of Honor.”
The tournament is co-hosted by Michigan State and Florida State with 27 teams of both men and women continuing today and Wednesday.
Click here for more information and live scoring.
Georgia Tech, Kansas lead the way in FOHC
In the first round of his collegiate golf career, Max Emberson of Georgia Tech made six birdies and shot a first-nine 29 on his way to a score of 8-under 63 at American Dunes Golf Club to top the first-round leaderboard of the Folds of Honor Collegiate.
Emberson birdied the par-4 17th and eagled the par-5 18th to close out his round and lead the Yellow Jackets to the team lead by seven shots over co-host Michigan State. He has a two-shot advantage over Ohio State’s Vaughn Harber in the 54-hole tournament. The second round begins today at 7:30 a.m. ET.
Click here for the men’s scoring.
In the concurrent women’s event, Kansas’ Anna Wallin had six birdies in shooting 4-under 68 to lead by one shot over Ohio State’s Nellie Ong and Arizona’s Charlotte Back to help the Jayhawks to a four-shot team lead over tournament co-host Florida State and Folds of Honor Collegiate defending champion Texas A&M. Today’s second round for the women begins at 1:05 ET.
Click here for the women’s scoring.
Golf Channel has second-round coverage live from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 4:30-7:30 p.m. ET, with re-airs (subject to change) from 12:30-3:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.-1 a.m. ET.
Rory has said in the beginning of the year, he wanted to step back some from the PGA Tour, spend more family time in Europe where he seems most comfortable and play important national events including some DP Tour events. More so than in the past.
Will US resident Tour members do something similar? Patrick Reed and Billy Horschel are 2 who come to mind who have spent considerable time in Europe especially this time of year (Reed on his ex-LIV and return plan).
The money is so big in the US now, it will take a special person to play a series of events in Europe during this time of year. It will be interesting to see how it evolves. Our US tax policies have some bearing on this since I suspect Rory, Justin Rose and others are tax residents of tax favorable countries while also being a resident of say Ireland or England. Can’t do that if you are a US resident.