Rory McIlroy adds context to Charley Hoffman's letter: 'He's also talking about himself'
He was wheels up less than three hours after his final putt dropped, scarfed down two double-doubles from In-N-Out, polished off a couple bottles of wine and finally landed back home in West Palm Beach, Florida, around 1 a.m. local time. His Monday included a workout and some practice, and by Tuesday evening he was in the SoFi Center for his team's second TGL match.
Not a lot of downtime, but it's what McIlroy, who also kicked off his DP World Tour season in Dubai last month, signed up for.
So, if Charley Hoffman has a problem with that, McIlroy says, so be it; in McIlroy's eyes, his participation outside of traditional PGA Tour events is additive to the PGA Tour, not detractive.
Hoffman sent a letter to his fellow PGA Tour members over the weekend. The necessity for the memo is still uncertain, as Hoffman's comments mostly reiterated what Justin Thomas had shared with their peers a few weeks ago, including the topics of slow play and obligations to broadcast partners. Hoffman also criticized how the field at Pebble was filled, seemingly upset that two players in the Aon Swing 5 had already earned their spot via last year's final FedExCup standings while Hoffman, sixth in the Swing 5, wasn't even on the alternate list. And he closed his letter by taking a shot at PGA Tour pros who, Hoffman feels, are supporting as many tournaments as they can.
'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. The best competition happens when the best players go head-to-head in a deep, competitive field. Not in small, limited-entry events that leave deserving players on the outside looking in.'
McIlroy couldn't help but notice himself as a target.
'I thought a couple of them (Hoffman's arguments) were pointed at me a little bit,' McIlroy said, '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.'
And so, McIlroy felt the need Tuesday night to contextualize what Hoffman said.
'I think the thing he forgot to mention is the PGA Tour owns 20% of TGL, so he's criticizing his own product,' McIlroy explained. '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 criticizing the Aon Swing 5; he was sixth in that. He talks about having it be for the good of the Tour, but he's also talking about himself, as well. …
'Look, what every player has to do is look out for themselves. 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.'
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