Entertainment
Rory McIlroy has made position very clear as PGA Tour star takes aim at Jordan Spieth
The PGA Tour and Jordan Spieth have been criticised following the announcement of a ninth Signature Event in 2026, with Rory McIlroy defending the Tour’s position
Jordan Spieth has come under fire for being handed sponsorship exemptions to PGA Tour Signature Events following the Miami Championship’s addition to the calendar. But Rory McIlroy has backed keeping tournament sponsors happy by featuring big-name stars.
The Tour launched Signature Events in 2024 as it battled to boost the circuit’s popularity amid competition from LIV Golf. Starting with eight events, there will be nine of these money-spinning tournaments by 2026, some without cuts that let sponsors hand-pick certain players.
The currently unsponsored Miami Championship will slot in between the Masters and the US PGA Championship at Trump National Doral next year. The announcement has triggered a furious response, with Tour stalwarts Robert Garrigus and James Hahn slamming the decision and targeting Spieth over his exemptions, which he secured at both the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational last year.
However, McIlroy has previously made his position crystal clear on these £ 15million prize tournaments. He fully supports keeping sponsors sweet by having superstars grace the greens, having been among the professionals who helped create them.
Reacting to the schedule change, Hahn told Golfweek: “An extra signature event without a title sponsor at a course owned by the president. This is a joke, right?”
The outburst challenged the PGA Tour’s sponsorship choices and the Doral venue’s connections to Donald Trump. Garrigus added: “What is happening to our Tour? So, does that mean one more sponsor invite for Jordan Spieth? Tell Spieth I’ll play him for any amount he wants. I win, I get his five invites to the signature events.”
Spieth found himself in the firing line because he ended up outside the FedEx Cup top 50. As a result, he wouldn’t typically qualify to compete in Signature Events. However, he’s anticipated to receive sponsor exemptions, which McIlroy fully supports.
In 2024, McIlroy featured on the Stick to Football podcast and was questioned about the sponsorships surrounding both the PGA Tour and competing LIV circuit. He acknowledged that sponsors deserve recognition for their financial backing.
Entertainment
Djokovic learns fate in new home as Sabalenka addresses behaviour
Express Sport brings you the latest tennis news from the Paris Masters.
We’re reaching the business end of the Paris Masters, as eight players become four in the French capital. Jannik Sinner is the overwhelming favourite to lift the trophy after Carlos Alcaraz was dumped out by Cameron Norrie in the Spaniard’s opening match. Norrie was then beaten by Valentin Vacherot, whose amazing 10-match winning streak at Masters 1000 level came to an end when he lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Canadian star Auger-Aliassime will face Alexander Bublik in the semis. Bublik defeated Alex de Minaur, who is among those to have already qualified for the year-end ATP Finals. Sinner is through to his first Paris Masters semi-final after beating Ben Shelton. He’ll face defending champion Alexander Zverev, who survived a tough match against Daniil Medvedev.
Novak Djokovic is not involved in the Paris Masters, having decided to skip the event for the second year in a row, but he has learned his fate in the draw of next week’s ATP 250 in Athens. And over in Riyadh, the WTA Finals are about to get underway.
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