Rory McIlroy will tee it up at the PGA Championship this week in the hope of winning his seventh major.
McIlroy won The Masters for the second consecutive time in April, and he has already cemented himself as a true legend of the game.
However, real legends never rest on their laurels and the 37-year-old Northern Irishman still has a lot to accomplish in the game.
Rory McIlroy has made it clear on numerous occasions that he wants to complete the Grand Slam for the second time.
He already has two PGA Championship wins to his name, but there is no doubt that he’d love to have three.
McIlroy is heavily fancied to win the PGA Championship this week at Aronimink, despite his struggles last week at Quail Hollow.
Rory McIlroy says if the PGA Championship should change format to matchplay
McIlroy addressed the media at Aronimink on Tuesday ahead of the PGA Championship.
There is much talk about what will happen with the PGA in the future, with the tournament lacking any real kind of identity.
It has been suggested that a good way to add more excitement to the PGA Championship would be to change the format to matchplay.
McIlroy responded when the suggestion of a change in format and moving the tournament to Pebble Beach and Cypress Point was put to him by one reporter.
“Sounds amazing. I thought we didn’t like 54-hole tournaments, though,“ McIlroy joked.
“Okay, that’s nice. Any opportunity to play Cypress Point would be good with me, absolutely.
“Yeah, look, match play has been a big talking point, possibly talking about it for The TOUR Championship at the end of the year going forward.
“I think match play is the purest form of the game. I think it’s a shame that we don’t have any match play really in the schedule apart from the Ryder Cup or the Presidents Cup.
“It would be nice to get some more match play on the schedule for sure.“
Why the PGA Championship switching to matchplay would not work
There are a couple of potential issues with the PGA Championship switching to matchplay.
Firstly, there would be a risk of the best golfers in the world losing their first-round matches.
Imagine having a major championship without Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy or Bryson DeChambeau competing after the first day!
The sponsors certainly wouldn’t be happy with that and fan interest would plummet.
Secondly, major championships are attended by huge crowds.
Let’s say that the final day would see the championship match played, as well as the third- and fourth-place playoff.
I’m just not sure that would work, with tens of thousands of fans on the property following just four players.
Something clearly needs to be done regarding the PGA Championship. A switch back to its original August date is an option.
However, changing the format to matchplay seems like a step too far.
