When it comes to Charley Hoffman’s letter to his fellow PGA Tour players, apparently Rory McIlroy got the memo. And the four-time major champion had a few things to say in response.
For those just catching up, Hoffman sent a letter earlier this week addressing some of the PGA Tour’s hot-button issues from slow play to playing opportunities. While McIlroy said he “thought some of the elements of the letter were fine”, he took exception to others after yesterday’s TGL match in which McIlroy’s Boston Common side lost to Los Angeles GC.
This part of Hoffman’s letter seemed to bother McIlroy the most: “If we truly care about strengthening our tour, we should be supporting as many PGA Tour events as we can,” Hoffman wrote. “Many of you keep saying you want to play fewer events, yet you still find time for TGL, Race to Dubai, and other non-PGA Tour events, and that’s going to continue regardless of field size.”
McIlroy gave a pretty lengthy answer when asked about the memo, starting with reminding Hoffman about a couple of the tour’s partnerships.
“I think the thing he forgot to mention is the PGA Tour owns 20 percent of TGL, so he’s criticising his own product,” McIlroy began. “They also own a good chunk of European Tour Productions, so again – I thought some of the elements of the letter were fine, addressed some issues. He was criticising the Aon Swing 5. He was sixth in that.”
McIlroy was referring to Hoffman being upset about just missing out on a spot in the field at last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, a signature event that McIlroy won to earn a $US3.6 million winner’s cheque.
“He talks about having it be for the good of the tour, but he’s also talking about himself, as well,” McIlroy continued. “I thought a couple of them were pointed at me a little bit because TGL, Race to Dubai, non-PGA Tour events like the Showdown that Scottie and I did in December, I’ve been vocal about not wanting to play quite as much so it seemed like it was pointed at me.”
McIlroy and Tiger Woods are co-founders of TGL. And the 27-time PGA Tour winner still plays some events on the DP World Tour, including making his 2025 debut at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
“Yeah, I mean, I guess all – look, what every player has to do is look out for themselves,” McIlroy concluded. “We have to do what’s best for our own individual careers, and yes, at the back of our mind try to do whatever we can to help the tour, but I think the best way for any of us to help the tour is to tee it up and play as best we can.”
You can watch McIlroy’s entire answer below:
I asked Rory McIlroy about the letter Charley Hoffman wrote.
No surprise, he gave me a thoughtful answer and clearly took it a bit personally… pic.twitter.com/amkHqbEfgh
— Joe I (@TourPicks) February 5, 2025
McIlroy is not playing in this week’s WM Phoenix Open, but Hoffman is in the field at TPC Scottsdale. We’re guessing he’ll be having more conversations with his fellow players on the range than usual.
