Rory McIlroy endorses Signature events while stats reveal a hidden concern about field size

Golf analyst Dan Rapaport shared that Rory McIlroy is in support of the Signature event models and believes "it is working". Signature Events were introduced by the PGA Tour three years ago as an answer to the launch of LIV Golf.

Many prominent golfers had jumped ship to LIV Golf in 2022. Some of the most promising aspects of the Saudi-backed circuit were the exorbitant signing fees and cash prizes awarded to players. In response to this, the PGA Tour introduced eight Signature Events.

These tournaments feature elevated cash prizes, increased FedEX Cup points and limited fields of more than 70 players only. PGA Tour events usually have around 150-player fields.

It has been three years since the Tour began this ambitious experiment. On this note, golf analyst Dan Rapaport asked Rory McIlroy's opinion on the matter at the Travelers Championship last week.

Rapaport said on his podcast (via Last Word on Sports), "I asked Rory about this earlier in the week when I was at the Travelers. I said, ‘How do you feel three years in if the signature event model is working?’ and he said, ‘I think it is working if you look at the tournaments we’ve had and the winners we’ve had’. Yeah, it was a fantastic show the week after the US Open!"

SI golf writer Bob Harig shared a post on his X page pointing out the progress of John Deere Classic. As shared by an X user, it was reportedly the lowest event in terms of the strength of the field in 2022 when the Signature Events were first introduced.

However, over the years it has seen a massive improvement, as the chart shows. The tournament is a regular event and features a full field.

Increasing the field sizes for Signature Events essentially means that it would become easier for players to qualify for them. If that were to happen, the value of regular events would be considerably diminished.

John Deere Classic making a huge jump since 2022 is a testament that the Signature Event experiment has benefitted regular events. Many golfers take enthusiastic part in regular tournaments hoping to qualify for a Signature Event in the next season, thereby boosting the non-elevated tournaments fields.

With the Travelers Championship last week, all eight Signature Events for the 2025 season have now concluded.

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Exploring the winners of the 2025 Signature events ft. Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (Source: Imagn)

Rory McIlroy recorded his first win on the PGA Tour this year at the second Signature Event of the season - the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in January.

Here's a look at all the winners of the Signature Events on the PGA Tour this year:

• The Sentry in Hawaii (January 2-5) : Hideki Matsuyama
• AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (January 30-2) : Rory McIlroy
• Genesis Invitational (February 13-16): Ludvig Aberg
• Arnold Palmer Invitational (March 6-9): Russell Henley
• RBC Heritage (April 17-20) : Justin Thomas
• Truist Championship (May 8-11) : Sepp Straka
• The Memorial (May 29 - June 1): Scottie Scheffler
• Travelers Championship (June 19-22) : Keegan Bradley

Edited by Tushar Bahl