Rory McIlroy had just opened his PGA Tour season Thursday with a bogey-free 6-under 66 at Spyglass Hill that included his second career hole-in-one, and it didn’t take long before he was asked about the burning questions of the day—the state of the tour, television ratings and the importance of “putting on a good show.”

Is he concerned about the future of the tour? “I’m concerned about myself,” he said flatly.

McIlroy long ago grew tired of talking about the future of the tour after stepping up as a lead voice for it when the rival LIV Golf League emerged and began picking off a few big-name players. He also advocated for changes to the tour, including the creation of what were first called designated events and then elevated events, and which now have evolved into signature events—one of which is this week’s $20 million AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

The world No. 3 did his part in putting on a show with his first-round efforts, livening things up at Spyglass with his slam-dunk ace with a three-quarter sand wedge at the par-3 15th hole, his sixth hole of the day. A clean card included four par saves from off the green, but the Northern Irishman undoubtedly left a few shots out there with a putting effort that cost him minus-0.379 strokes.

But he couldn’t complain.

The four-time major winner appeared in mid-season form in his third start of the year (third with an asterisk) after playing in Dubai on the DP World Tour and TGL on Monday night. He had put in a lot of swing work in the fall and played more golf than usual in December. If he figures out the putting—the same theory observers posited about Scottie Scheffler before he went on a tear in 2024—he’ll be rather dangerous.

“Yeah, I’m maybe not searching as much,” he said of his current form. “I stayed pretty busy in that October period where I did a lot of swing work. Then I also played quite a lot of golf in December, which I don’t usually play, so I felt like that kept me a little more sharp.

“It’s mostly social golf, but I had a trip to Ohoopee, I had The Grove member-member, I had my trip to New Zealand, I played the Showdown in Vegas, so I was playing a lot of golf through December. I probably only took like six or seven days off in December where I would usually take the whole month off, so I think that kept me a little sharper. Sort of I could hit the ground running when I got back into it.”

The tour is in the midst of rethinking various aspects of its presentation to fans, and signature events were meant to be a key to boosting its profile with smaller fields populated by the top players—those who have remained loyal, that is. McIlroy played in the previous iteration of this event, when 144 players competed and the amateur contingent included a significant number of pro athletes and celebrities, the model of the old Crosby Clambake. This week, the field is 80 players and only a handful of celebrities are participating, making way for well-heeled elites and business leaders.

It’s a different vibe, one that McIlroy, 35, finds agreeable.

“It’s definitely more golfy, more golfy. Yeah, maybe more … the ams here playing maybe have a higher golf IQ,” he observed. “Look, there’s pros and cons of both, right? What was the Crosby back in the day was a very cool event, but when AT&T step up and pay the money that they pay for a signature event, and the guys out here are playing for that sort of money, you sort of want it to feel more golf than entertainment.”

Well, in simple terms, good golf is entertainment. McIlroy did his part, doing the old talking-with-his-clubs thing. It was a good show.

Main Image: Andrew Redington