Tournaments like the Mexico Open, despite bringing a bit of novelty, are a big question mark to the PGA Tour. This is mainly because the event taking place at Vidanta Vallarta is sandwiched between the west and east coast parts of the tour. So players generally treat the Open as an excuse to rest before they start on the next long leg of the Tour. This is where Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy’s words more than a year ago ring true. In January 2024, ahead of the Dubai Invitational McIlroy, professed something similar.

The four-time Major winner felt that there needs to be more refining in the PGA Tour schedule. Despite not being a big fan of LIV Golf, he admitted that Jay Monahan and the PGA Tour did not do what was necessary to ensure to their sponsors that the best events in the calendar had the best players playing on it. The fundamental problem is the clunkiness of the schedule.

McIlroy proposes a new format. “Whether they are rotated on the new global circuit, or we go with the same ones every year, I’m OK with either. The Australian Open, for example, should almost be the fifth major. The market down there is huge with potential. They love golf. They love sport. They have been starved of top-level golf. And the courses are so good.”

The idea behind the suggestion from McIlroy is that the PGA Tour and golf needs to have more global appeal. Current events are highly concentrated inside the United States of America, with very few events, if any, leaving the continent. A global presence like Formula 1 could be the vitalizing force the sport of golf needs. McIlroy, who hails from Northern Ireland, can understand the need for global appeal.“We could end up with something that resembles Formula One, but with a little more of an American presence. Throw in the four majors and you have a brilliant schedule for the top 70-100 guys, whatever the number is.”

He also added, “We’d have, say a 22-event schedule. That would look pretty good to me.” Coming from a player’s perspective, Jay Monahan and the PGA Tour need to take this seriously. And that too a player as accomplished and celebrated as Rory McIlroy. The players and the quality they bring are an enormous asset that the PGA Tour has and they need to look after them. And now, it seems that he is not the only one who feels that way.

Insiders agree with Rory McIlroy on changes

Golf Channel.com writers and podcast hosts Ryan Lavner and Rex Hoggard appeared on the Golf Today show. They gave their inputs and thoughts on several things but one talking point that really stood out was their ideas on the current scheduling at the PGA Tour. The duo feels that the current schedule needs to be changed and shortened. The players themselves need to be contractually obligated to play in certain events and the events need to be marketed in such a way. A sort of LIV Golf way to look at things, right? Ryan Lavner thinks so.“By Being contractually obligated to play in certain events.”

Lavner is thinking about tightening the schedule and including events that are more enticing to the players, be it prize money or atmosphere.“If you pare down the PGA Tour schedule enough, You would have potentially a schedule of just signature events or at tournaments where players really want to show up.”The lucrative prize money along with a crowd that thrives on the quality of the game, gives it a very interesting appeal.“Top players want to play at those events and have to those events.”

Rex Hoggard was short and sweet with his answer.“Less has to be more.” What the writer was trying to imply is that the PGA Tour needs to focus more on the quality of the product they give rather than the quantity of the product.

Hoggard echoed McIlroy‘s thoughts from a year before, stating that the schedule will look similar to the Formula 1 calendar. The best part about such a situation is that it creates hype for the upcoming events and ensures great storylines unfold. Each event will have character and significance that lends charm to the season. “Whatever the game becomes, if there is a unification between the two sides, it would look something like the Formula One model, where less is more. Where you may have twenty or twenty-five events. And you cherry-pick the best events around the world.”

Then the question comes–what about the smaller events? Hoggard had an answer for that. A tier-based system that focuses on merit is the solution for tournaments like the Mexico Open. “If that’s the scenario, then those 20 or 25 events will be top tier. And you would probably have events, maybe like this week’s, that would move to the second tier.”

The current Mexico Open player list and withdrawals are a clear indicator of necessary change at some level concerning the PGA Tour Schedule.

Big misses at the Mexico Open

The highest-ranked player slated to appear at the Mexico Open was Maverick McNealy. The runner-up at the Genesis Invitational, however, announced his withdrawal on Monday just days ahead of the start. McNealy’s withdrawal means that no top 20 ranked players are on the field at the Mexico Open. The likes of Scottie Scheffler, Ludvig Aberg, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, and Rickie Fowler are all absent at the Vidanta Vallarta Golf Course.

The highest-ranked player will be 29th-ranked Aaron Rai. 30th-ranked Akshay Bhatia is the only other player from the top 40 of the Official World Golf Rankings. Defending champion Jake Knapp will relish his chances at winning the trophy again, but he will also have a few young but promising golfers against him. 17-year-old Blades Brown will be making his second start as a pro and US Amateur Champion Josele Ballester will be playing under a sponsor exemption.

A PGA Tour title is up for grabs for all of them. The lack of big names might pave wthe ay for future stars to shine and grab the spotlight.

What do you, as fans, think of these proposed but unenforced changes to the PGA Tour? Do you think it will make the Tour more interesting or do you think that the Tour loses a bit of what made it the high standard?