Tranlate this title Rory McIlroy questions one part of PGA Tour’s new 2028 structure in spanish

Rory McIlroy has given his opinion about the PGA Tour’s new structure which will start in 2028, and he does not believe DP World Tour players should be worried.

The PGA Tour confirmed new membership categories for the Championship Series and Challenger Series on Tuesday. The two competitions will run at the same time, with promotion and relegation depending on results.

One question is still open. It has not yet been confirmed how many DP World Tour players will get direct access to the Championship Series.

At the moment, the leading 10 players in the final Race to Dubai standings who are not already exempt can earn PGA Tour membership for the following season.

McIlroy, who has membership on both tours, believes the new system should still give the best DP World Tour players a direct route to the top level.

Asked before the BMW PGA Championship whether players on the European-based circuit should be worried, McIlroy gave a simple answer.

“No. I don’t think so,” McIlroy said.

“I just think the conversation about the PGA Tour’s structure has changed. From my point of view, I don’t see any reason why a DP World Tour player would go to the Challenger Series.

I don’t see that as an upward move in your career. I see it as a very lateral move.”

McIlroy wants a direct route to the Championship Series

The Championship Series is expected to contain the leading PGA Tour players and will have 20 events, including The Players Championship and the four majors.

Under the new rules, the top 90 players will keep their Championship Series status. The top 20 players from the Challenger Series will move up, while the bottom 20 from the Championship Series will move down.

Two wins on the Challenger Series will also bring immediate promotion.

For the first season in 2028, the PGA Tour has created several qualification routes. The top 70 players from the 2027 FedEx Cup standings will qualify, while other places will be available through tournament wins and other categories.

The PGA Tour has not yet announced the final pathway for DP World Tour players.

Chief executive Brian Rolapp confirmed that discussions are continuing about the strategic alliance and how many places should be available.

McIlroy believes the question should be about the number of Championship Series cards, rather than whether DP World Tour players should first play on the Challenger Series.

“So it would just be: ‘OK, how many cards is reasonable to give to the DP World Tour for the Championship Series?’” he said.

“No one’s going to argue that the Championship Series is going to be the highest level of Tour golf that you can play, and then it’s just deciding what an adequate number of cards is to go from here to the Championship Series.”

The current connection between the two tours has already given European-based players a chance to move to the PGA Tour.

At the end of the 2025 season, 10 players earned PGA Tour cards through the Race to Dubai rankings. Marco Penge was the highest player on that list after finishing second overall.

McIlroy also has his own goal at Wentworth

While McIlroy spoke about the future of the two tours, the 37-year-old is also trying to finish his season in a better way.

His Irish Open did not go as planned. The Northern Irishman finished tied for 41st and was 21 shots behind Shane Lowry, who won the tournament by 11 shots.

That result also hurt McIlroy in the Race to Dubai battle.

Patrick Reed currently leads the standings after another good result in Ireland, while McIlroy is trying to win the Race to Dubai for the eighth time.

Another title would move him level with Colin Montgomerie’s record.

“I can’t believe I’m sitting here with seven,” McIlroy said. “So, yeah, I’d love to give myself a chance again.

“Last week wasn’t a great week for me in terms of the overall points. Patrick had a good week, and I didn’t have such a great week. I’m going to have to try to make up for that this week.”

Wentworth gives McIlroy an immediate chance to respond. The BMW PGA Championship offers 8,000 Race to Dubai points and is an important event in the final part of the season.

McIlroy won the tournament in 2014 and has finished close to another victory there several times since then.

Rory McIlroy is known for his unique views, which some people sometimes describe as unusual or even bizarre.

The Northern Irish golfer is one of the more interesting figures on the golf scene for a reason, and many people are interested in hearing his opinion.

One reason for that is McIlroy’s results in recent years. The experienced golfer has stayed near the top of the sport and is often mentioned alongside Scottie Scheffler as one of the leading names in golf.