Major champion agrees with Rory McIlroy's dramatic PGA Tour shakeup plan

10 March 2024 , 18:04

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Wyndham Clark echoed the comments of Rory McIlroy (Image: Getty Images)

Wyndham Clark has backed Rory McIlroy's calls for the PGA Tour to be more 'cut-throat' when it comes to handing out Tour cards to its members.

McIlroy addressed the issue at this week's Arnold Palmer Invitational, and whilst he admitted his idea could be an 'unpopular' one, he was more than happy to have his say. "No, I mean, I’m all for making it more cut-throat, more competitive,” he said of the PGA Tour at Bay Hill on Friday.

"[I] Probably won’t be very popular for saying this, but I’m all for less players and less Tour cards, and the best of the best.” Just 24 hours later, McIlroy doubled down on his stance following his third round in Florida.

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Claiming he would like to see fresher blood coming through to the PGA Tour, reducing the exemptions for those who are closer to the end of their career, than the beginning, he added: "I'm all for more cut throat and more competitive and trying to give pathways to the younger generation.

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"So, through Korn Ferry Tour, through PGA Tour, through -- like, I would rather have more of a, like, yeah, instead of -- I just feel like there's a lot of categories on Tour that people are sort of still benefiting off what they did like five or ten years ago. I feel like the most competitive professional golf tour in the world, you should have to come out and prove yourself year after year after year."

There is no doubt McIlroy's proposals will not go down well with a number of PGA Tour stars, but he has received the backing of a fellow major champion in Clark. The U.S. Open champion has put himself right in the mix to win his second PGA Tour event of the season at Bay Hill, as he sits one shot behind leaders Shane Lowry and Scottie Scheffler with 18 holes to play.

Wyndham Clark had his say at Bay Hill

He remained in the hunt after a carding a one-under-par 71 on Saturday, and in the aftermath, Clark was quizzed on his thoughts on McIlroy's stance and went one step further, calling on the Tour to limit their membership to just 100 players. "I think it would be amazing if our Tour was a hundred guys," he claimed.

Proposing a relegation system, similar to their rivals at LIV Golf, Clark went on: "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. It would be exciting.

"Because you come down to the end of the year, people are looking who is going to win the FedExCup, 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."

Joshua Lees