Rory McIlroy has warned the PGA Tour he will continue to skip some of their most prized tournaments as he spreads his wings in the final third of his career. If they feel snubbed, the US circuit can direct complaints to Roger Federer.
Such is the world No 2’s desire to play a more diverse schedule, he has previously announced plans to play in India next month and Australia in December, either side of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
McIlroy, who is contesting the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth this week, has long worked in a number of stops away from the PGA Tour, but the volume is increasing and it will concern the top brass stateside that his future intentions will come at the expense of their lucrative ‘signature’ events.
He missed three of the eight in 2025 and that pattern looks set to continue. Explaining the decision to sample lesser-visited spots on the golfing circuit, he cited Federer on Tuesday, saying: ‘I want to go and play in different places in the world and experience things that I haven’t experienced before.
‘Going to India to play for the first time, that excites me. I don’t want to name a tournament, but you’re going back to the same place, the same thing 15, 20 years in a row, it can get a little bit monotonous and a little bit tedious.
‘I had a chat with Roger Federer a few years ago and he was saying he wanted to go and play a lot of the places he could never play in his career. I think as time goes on and I get to this stage of my career, I get excited about doing that sort of thing.’
Rory McIlroy has warned the PGA Tour he will continue to skip some of their most prized events
McIlroy, who won the Irish Open on Sunday, wants to pay a diverse schedule of tournaments
McIlroy referenced a conversation with Roger Federer, who had stated his desire to play tennis in locations he had never previously been (pictured at an exhibition event in Cape Town)
The 36-year-old added: ‘At this point I want to play golf when I want to play golf. I want to play in the locations that I love to go to, and I want to play the majors and the Ryder Cup. That’s it. I’m not going to be going by minimums or anything else.
‘I’ll obviously do my bit to make sure I keep my membership and all that on certain tours, but I’m going to play where I want to play.’
McIlroy, who has recently completed the build on a new mansion at Wentworth, will tune up for the Ryder Cup this week by attempting to follow his Irish Open victory by breaking a string of near-misses here. He has been second twice in the past three years.
He said: ‘Even since winning here in 2014, I’ve had a lot of close calls to get my name on the trophy again.
‘Last week was great and I won, but it doesn’t change anything. I’m using this time to prepare for what’s coming in a couple weeks’ time.’
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Rory McIlroy reveals Roger Federer inspiration for his schedule – as Masters champion warns PGA Tour he will continue to skip their prized events