Rory McIlroy has won six majors. He thinks the sport is making it harder for fans to follow them, and he has a specific fix in mind.

McIlroy made the comments on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England, ahead of The Open Championship. He is chasing his seventh major title at this week's final major of the 2026 season.

"I'd like to see the major season spread out a little bit longer," Rory McIlroy said, according to Sportstar. "PGA into US Open, US Open into here, it just seems like it's very, very quick."

McIlroy further talked about the player's perspective on the golf calendar.

"From a player perspective, if you get on a bit of a run, it's nice to be playing well and go from one straight into the next, but for the sport as a whole and for the general interest in the game, I can see the positives in the major season being stretched out a little bit longer," said McIlroy via Sportstar.

The current compressed schedule dates to seven years ago, when the PGA Championship moved from August to May. That shift squeezed all four men's majors, the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, and The Open, into a four-month window running April through July.

McIlroy acknowledged the Masters will always carry its own extended build-up regardless of where it sits on the calendar. His concern is the run that follows it.

He arrives at Royal Birkdale as the back-to-back Masters champion. His only Open Championship title came 12 years ago. He finished tied for fourth at Birkdale in 2017.

McIlroy's calendar comments came alongside his thoughts on this week's venue.

Rory McIlroy says Royal Birkdale suits his game

McIlroy first played Birkdale at the Amateur Championship before returning for the 2017 Open. He said the course's reputation among players is well-earned.

"If you were to poll every player in the field, I'd say it would be up there in terms of being everyone's favourite Open venues to play for sure," he said, according to Reuters.

He pointed to one specific quality that sets Birkdale apart from other links venues.

"One of the common things you hear about Birkdale is it's very fair for a links golf course," McIlroy said. "The fairways aren't overly undulating, so when you land the ball in the fairway here, it seems like it stays on the fairway and there's not a ton of blind shots."

St Andrews remains his favorite course on the Open rota, he said. But Birkdale, he added, still suits him, even after its recent redesign.

Do you think spreading out the major season would make golf more interesting for fans? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi