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
Rory McIlroy has defended Jordan Spieth over the issue of sponsorship exemptions(Image: Keyur Khamar/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
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.
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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.
Jordan Spieth has been drawn into the debate over sponsorship exemptions(Image: Getty)
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.
He said: “What LIV and the Saudis have exposed is that you have a tour and you’re going and asking sponsors for millions of dollars to sponsor these events and you’re not able to guarantee those sponsors the players that are going to show up. It’s very hard. I can’t believe they’ve done so well for so long.
“Asking [a company] to pay 20, 25million an event to sponsor this thing – they’re not seeing the value in it. If you can guarantee me that the top 50 guys are going to come and play in my event that week, then fine, but if you can’t guarantee me that, then I’m not going to give you that money.”
McIlroy has faced criticism for missing Signature Events this year, including the Memorial Tournament, though commissioner Jay Monahan has defended the Northern Irishman’s dedication to the Tour and acknowledged his role in developing the Signature Event format.
Jay Monahan has defended McIlroy(Image: AP)
“The beauty of our model is that our players have the ability to select their schedule,” said Monahan. “What Rory McIlroy has done, I think he’s played in this tournament [the Memorial] every year since 2017.
“And you look at the tournaments that he’s supported. I don’t have any concern, because you look at this on balance over time, his support of our tournaments and our partners is extraordinary.”
Meanwhile, PGA player director Webb Simpson has also outlined why sponsors deserve recognition for their back. He said in May last year: “These tournament directors are working around the clock for a year trying to make their tournament the best.
“We want to give them the opportunity to say, ‘Hey, you have a few spots, four spots in these Signature Events to be able to invite who you want to invite.'”
