McIlroy Concern for Scottish Open Under Tour Revamp
Rory McIlroy, the 2023 Scottish Open champion, has expressed caution regarding the future of the Scottish Open as the PGA Tour plans to implement a two-tier format in 2028.
Under the proposed system, the PGA Tour will split its schedule into two concurrent series: the Championship tier, featuring the Tour's leading players, and the second-tier Challenger series. Players competing in the Championship events will be ineligible to participate in Challenger events, and vice versa. However, any player who wins two Challenger events within the same season will earn immediate promotion to the Championship tier.
The Scottish Open is not expected to qualify for Championship status. Consequently, although 14 of the world's top 20 players are competing at this week's tournament at the Renaissance Club, many top-ranked players would be barred from participating in the Scottish Open from 2028 under the new regulations.
Bob MacIntyre, Scotland's leading player, has advocated for "exceptions" to be made for the Scottish Open when the new schedule is introduced.
Promotion and Relegation in Revamped 2028 PGA Tour
"We've got to be careful with that because then these national opens lose the fabric of what they are,"
said McIlroy, a two-time Masters champion.
"You can't call yourself a national open any more if it's a closed-off tournament and there's a certain number of guys.
These events need to be treated differently than the Travelers Championship or RBC Heritage or whatever else is going to be in the Championship series."
The Scottish Open has been co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour since 2022. This arrangement allows members of either tour, provided they meet ranking criteria, to compete in the 156-player field.
PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp has approved a plan for the Championship tier to feature fields of approximately 120 players competing for prize funds of at least $20 million (£15 million). The current Scottish Open purse is £6.7 million.
MacIntyre commented on the financial aspect, stating:
"I personally think the Scottish Open is going to be totally fine.
I don't see it being a $20m event. I see it being a Rolex Series/European Tour event. It would be a bit mad to put a $20m event in Scotland given the world we live in today. It's not the same as America."
Many leading American players value the Scottish Open as preparation for The Open Championship the following week, appreciating the opportunity to compete on seaside links courses.
World number one and reigning Open champion Scottie Scheffler emphasized the importance of maintaining the Scottish Open within the Championship Series, stating:
"It needs to work within the new schedule.
It's an important one that we keep it in the Championship Series just because you get so many guys that come over here and play the week before [The Open]."
Scheffler also noted the complexity of including DP World Tour players under the new format:
"It's hard to tell whether the field should also include DP World Tour players under the new set-up.
Golf is so difficult to rank players when they are not playing together all the time.
Having similar guys playing against each other on great golf courses week in and week out is the best way to set up our schedule.
To have this tournament fit into that mould would be really nice."
Selected Scottish Open Tee Times
- 08:06: Xander Schauffele, Kristoffer Reitan, Adam Scott
- 08:17: Shane Lowry, JJ Spaun, Aaron Rai
- 08:28: Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Chris Gotterup
- 13:43: Scottie Scheffler, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood
- 13:54: Justin Thomas, Ludvig Aberg, Patrick Reed
- 14:05: Jon Rahm, Alex Fitzpatrick, Rasmus Hojgaard
