Rory McIlroy hailed a new path to the PGA Tour for pros on the DP World Tour at his press conference on Tuesday IN 2026 PGA Championship. But a great champion sees things very differently.
Ian WoosnamThe DP World Tour legend and 1991 Masters champion took to the X to slam McIlroy’s comments in support of the changes, which stemmed from a new operating agreement the PGA and DP World tours reached 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 “feeder circuit” of the PGA Tour.
Rory McIlroy praises DP World Tour rule change at PGA Championship: ‘The system is working’
When LIV Golf launched in 2022, the PGA Tour and DP World Tour decided to strengthen their ties even further to outlast their new competitor and prevent more star players from leaving.
So they did with a new 13-year operating agreementwhich increased the PGA Tour’s investment in European Tour Productions in exchange for an increase in prize money at DP World Tour events.
As part of the deal, the top 10 finishers on the DP World Tour each season would earn PGA Tour cards. This was a huge bonus for the players, who now had an additional annual opportunity to graduate to the US-based tour and play for much bigger purses.
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Dylan Dethier
Kristoffer Reitan was one of last year’s lucky winners. He finished 8th in the standings of the 2025 Dubai Race, earning his PGA Tour card for 2026. Reitan played in the Truist Championship last week, then he did the unthinkable: he won, taking home a $3.6 million winner’s check in the process.
That check matches up almost perfectly with the total earnings 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 path from the DP World Tour to the PGA Tour.
“I think it’s amazing. I also think it speaks to the incredible path that DP World Tour players have to get their cards,” McIlroy said Tuesday at the Aronimink. “You get your PGA Tour card from that, play your way into Signature Events, and then the system works.”
McIlroy also sees Reitan’s path to recognition as a sign of the “meritocracy” in pro golf at the moment.
“You know, it’s meritocracy. It’s that upward trajectory that you can follow whenever you play well and score goals. And Kristoffer last week is a prime example of that,” McIlroy said. “It was amazing to see. When I finished and obviously I was off the tour and I didn’t get a chance to see all the Europeans up there at the top, that’s amazing. Nicolai, too. Obviously, Alex; Tommy.”
Ian Woosnam criticizes rule change McIlroy supports
In McIlroy’s estimation, the top-10 path 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 in here, cements himself as a winner on the PGA Tour, one of the — probably one of the biggest events on the tour,” McIlroy said. “But then what a great thing it is for the DP World Tour when the PGA Tour ends in August that Kristoffer will be back, playing 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 that’s an amazing thing.”
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Kristoffer Reitan’s surprise Truist win summed up his pro golf journey
Josh Schrock
It was here that Woosnam, a former no. 1 of the world, disagrees with the six-time major champion.
In Woosnam’s view, the rule change is “weakening” the DP World Tour, drawing its top 10 players to the US each year. as he argued in X.
“Amazing that the DP tour loses top 10 players every year and weakens the DP tour,” Woosnam wrote.
He went on to argue that the result of this change is transforming the DP World Tour into a “feeder tour” for the PGA Tour, rather than strengthening the competition and its future.
“How does the DP tour bring in sponsorship for the tournaments when they lose the players. What the hell is the DP tour now. I see there is a feeder tour for the PGA tour? Wow,” Woosnam wrote.
And Woosnam has a point. The reality of top DP World Tour players leaving every year undoubtedly dilutes the European tours they would otherwise have played.
But it’s also true that the annual race to earn a PGA Tour card adds excitement and hype to the Dubai Race, increasing interest in those events. PGA Tour success could also bring former DP World Tour pros like Reitan increased fame and attention, which in turn should help the DP World Tour events they play.
Moreover, things have changed dramatically since Woosnam’s time, when many star Europeans played more often on the European Tour. Nowadays, the PGA Tour clearly represents the pinnacle of professional golf competition, and most players dream of eventually making their way there.
