ATLANTA – The PGA Tour’s home-tour rule that has left Rory McIlroy needing commissioner intervention could soon be on the chopping block anyway.
McIlroy will fall one tournament short of the 15-event minimum required for players to maintain home-tour status, which allows him to compete on both the PGA and European tours with the need for conflicting event releases.
McIlroy is playing his 14th PGA Tour event of the season this week at East Lake, after teeing it up in all three playoff events. He’s also slated to play five of the next six weeks overseas.
McIlroy and Tour CEO/commissioner Brian Rolapp have had several conversations about the issue over the past few months, and Rolapp, per the player handbook, has discretion to approve any possible exceptions. If McIlroy were to lose Tour status, he would be limited to seven sponsor exemptions per season as a non-member.
With the Tour rules and regulations set to undergo a massive overhaul prior to the introduction of the new Championship Series, Rolapp said that home-tour rule will likely be one of many under evaluation.
“We’re questioning looking at it,” he said. “It’s a rule that applies just to dual members, and it’s questionable if it even has a place in our new competitive model.”