PGA Tour’s New Designated Events Plan for 2024 Leaves DP World Tour in Further Limbo

The DP World Tour isn’t enjoying a whole lot of stability as of late.

The tour, formerly known as the European Tour prior to a 2022 sponsorship deal, is currently awaiting a court ruling in the United Kingdom to hear whether LIV Golf pros can compete in its events. A ruling isn’t expected until sometime next month.

Now after the tour joined into a “strategic alliance” with the PGA Tour in 2021, questions remain over how stars from the worldwide tour can gain a foothold into the lucrative designated events in 2024.

As part of the strategic alliance, the top-10 from the previous year’s finishing order for the season-long DP World Tour are granted a PGA Tour card. But if they are unable to play often on the PGA Tour, many say it will be difficult for them to get into the designated events to retain that tour card.

Among those skeptical of the PGA Tour having the best interest of their partnership in mind is Richard Bland, a longtime DP World Tour member before joining LIV Golf.

 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Richard Bland (@richbland478)

Rory McIlroy, during the Arnold Palmer Invitational, said:

“I think Europe needs to get into the mix. I think everyone knows (the PGA Tour) is the place that you want to play golf, right? People complain about these 10 cards going to (DP World) Tour players that get on this Tour. But if I’m a European tour player, that’s brilliant.

“So to have the opportunity to be in the top 10 in Europe and then get over where all the opportunity is, which is here–I’m not saying there’s no opportunity over there, there is. But the one thing I would like to see going forward with this designated events schedule is trying to get some of those tournaments in the mix overseas.”

Rory McIlroy says DP World Tour should get in ‘the mix’ with designated events: https://t.co/6M2Zc9Vlt5 pic.twitter.com/tS9hIBeOoR

— Golf Central (@GolfCentral) March 3, 2023

McIlroy, who won the DP World Tour’s season championship in 2022 and won the Dubai Desert Classic in January, said that he would like to see one of that tour’s big events become a designated event on the PGA Tour, which would help get the top players on that tour in the mix.

Cover Image Via Golf Channel