‘It Would Be Exciting’: Major Winner Backs Rory McIlroy’s ‘Cutthroat’ Stance For The PGA Tour

Rory McIlroy recently voiced for a more ‘cutthroat’ PGA Tour membership during the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Now, the reigning major champion, Wyndham Clark, has come out in support of the Northern Irishman and feels that it would make the Tour even more exciting.

The ongoing fourth signature event of the 2024 season only 69 players competing with each other at Bay Hills. While the 70th player, Tony Finau, withdrew from the prestigious event before it even started. The single-cut tournament saw players competing hard to finish inside the cutline on Friday.

After the end of Saturday’s play, reigning major champion Wyndham Clark stated that having a hundred players on the PGA Tour would be amazing. He said,

“I mean, I think it would be amazing if our Tour was a hundred guys.” Clark continued, “I kind of said this a few times, a hundred guys and we have 20 guys that get relegated every time, every year, doesn’t matter who you are.”

Last season, Wyndham Clark finished third on the FedEx Cup standings. Meanwhile, the major champion has already won a tournament at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. During the post-round press conference, he clearly said that he was in support of Rory McIlroy’s ‘cutthroat’ PGA Tour stance. He said,

“It would be exciting. Because you come down to the end of the year, people are looking who is going to win the FedEx Cup, and then you’re looking at who is not going to be here next year. So, yeah, I’m probably with Rory on that. I don’t know what that number is, but I think it’s just nice to elevate the product and make it to where the best players are playing on TV more often and against each other.”

Major Champion Wyndham Clark Explains Why He Supports Rory McIlroy’s ‘Cutthroat’ Stance

Although Clark won the US Open last year, he feels that speaking on having a hundred-player field on a PGA Tour event was outside of his pay grade. However, Clark explains by saying,

“This is a little outside of my pay grade, but I think that would be nice. I think a hundred-man field and then we would still have maybe a little bit bigger of a cut.”

Wyndham Clark further explained that having a hundred players with a PGA Tour card would make the competition tougher. He added that if a player loses his card, he will have to go back to the lower circuit and fight hard to earn it back. The major champion said,

“It would be simple, because you know these hundred guys have a card and, no matter what, they’re playing in the events and there’s no, you know, this guy gets in or whatever sponsor invites. I think it would just be really easy. Then, if you lose your card, you go down to the next one, and vice versa. So, I don’t know. I think that seems like an easy simple plan, but like I said, above my pay grade.”

All thanks to LIV Golf, the PGA Tour is now seeing talks on a limited membership. Well, it is still doubtful if the US-based tour will consider this suggestion. But if they do, it is quite unlikely that all the players will have a collective stance just like Rory McIlroy or Wyndham Clark

About the author

Kunal Singh

Kunal is a golf journalist for The SportsRush. He is an avid golf fan with a huge inclination towards Rory McIlroy's drive and Phil Mickelson's short game. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and is currently pursuing a MBA in Media Management. Before joining The SportsRush, he has already penned over 1300 articles. If not covering stories on golf, you can find him brainstorming various fiction stories, composing music, and playing snooker.

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