Rory McIlroy praised a new pathway to the PGA Tour for pros grinding on the DP World Tour in his press conference on Tuesday at the 2026 PGA Championship. But one major champion sees things very differently.
Ian Woosnam, the DP World Tour legend and 1991 Masters champion, took to X to sharply criticize McIlroy’s comments in support of the changes, which came about from a new operational agreement the PGA and DP World tours struck in 2022.
Unlike Rory, Woosnam argued that one change in particular is “weakening” the DP World Tour and turning it into nothing more than a PGA Tour “feeder circuit.”
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When LIV Golf began back in 2022, the PGA Tour and DP World Tour decided to strengthen their bonds even further to survive their new competitor and prevent more star players from leaving.
They did so with a new 13-year operational agreement, which increased the PGA Tour’s investment in European Tour Productions in return for an increase in prize money at DP World Tour events.
As part of the agreement, the top-10 finishers on the DP World Tour each season would earn PGA Tour cards. That was a huge bonus for players, who now had an additional annual opportunity to graduate to the American-based tour and play for far bigger purses.
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Kristoffer Reitan was one of the lucky winners last year. He finished 8th in the 2025 Race to Dubai standings, earning his PGA Tour card for 2026. Reitan played his way into last week’s Truist Championship, then did the unthinkable: he won, taking home the $3.6 million winner’s check in the process.
That check almost perfectly matches the total winnings Reitan has collected on the DP World Tour in his career, roughly $3.69 million.
On Tuesday, McIlroy used Reitan’s story as proof of the “incredible” nature of the new pathway from the DP World Tour to the PGA Tour.
“I think it’s amazing. I also think it speaks to the incredible pathway the DP World Tour players have to get their cards,” McIlroy said Tuesday at Aronimink. “You get your PGA Tour card out of that, play your way into the Signature Events, and then it’s the system working.”
McIlroy also sees Reitan’s pathway to prominence as a sign of the “meritocracy” in pro golf at the moment.
“You know, it’s the meritocracy. It’s that upward trajectory that you can get on whenever you, when you play well and you shoot the scores. And Kristoffer last week is a prime example of that,” McIlroy said. “It was amazing to see. When I finished and I was obviously out of the tournament and didn’t have a chance to see all the Europeans up there around the lead, that’s amazing. Nicolai, as well. Obviously, Alex; Tommy.”
Ian Woosnam criticizes rule change McIlroy supports
In McIlroy’s estimation, the top-10 pathway to the PGA Tour is a “wonderful opportunity” for players like Reitan. But he also went further and argued that the rule change is a “great thing” for the DP World Tour.
“Kristoffer [Reitan] comes over here, cements himself as a PGA Tour winner, one of the — arguably one of the biggest events on the Tour,” McIlroy said. “But then also what a great thing that is for the DP World Tour when the PGA Tour finishes in August that Kristoffer will go back, play DP World Tour events until the end of the year, and that brings more attention, that brings more excitement to those tournaments at the end of the year. So I think it’s an amazing thing.”
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That’s where Woosnam, a former World No. 1, disagrees with the six-time major champion.
In Woosnam’s view, the rule change is “weakening” the DP World Tour by siphoning its 10 best players away to the U.S. every year, as he argued on X.
“Amazing that the DP tour loses the very best 10 players every year and weakening the DP tour,” Woosnam wrote.
He continued by arguing that the result of this change is transforming the DP World Tour into a “feeder tour” for the PGA Tour, rather than strengthening its own competitions and future.
“How does the DP tour bring in sponsorship for tournaments when losing them players. What really is the DP tour now. I see it has a feeder tour for the PGA tour? Wow,” Woosnam wrote.
Amazing that the DP tour loses the very best 10 players every year and weakening the DP tour
How does the DP tour bring in sponsorship for tournaments when losing them players
And Woosnam has a point. The reality of the best DP World Tour players leaving every year no doubt weakens the European tournaments they would have otherwise played.
But it’s also true that the annual race to earn a PGA Tour card adds excitement and incentive to the Race to Dubai, increasing interest in those events. PGA Tour success can also bring former DP World Tour pros such as Reitan increased fame and attention, which in turn should aid DP World Tour events they do play.
Furthermore, things have changed dramatically since Woosnam’s time, when many star Europeans played more frequently on the European Tour. Nowadays, the PGA Tour clearly represents the peak of professional golf competition, and most players dream of making their way there eventually.
;)
