Rory McIlroy is hopeful that The Irish Open can be boosted by becoming part of both the PGA and European Tour schedules.
It was announced this week that the Barracuda Championship, Barbasol Championship, and Scottish Open will offer both FedEx and Race to Dubai ranking points in 2022.
As part of a strategic alliance between the tours, The Irish Open’s prize money will be increased to six million dollars next year.
There’s still no confirmation where next year’s Irish Open is going to be however it is speculated that it’s coming back to Mount Juliet in Kilkenny.
McIlroy believes it’s the start of a bright time ahead for his home open.
“The Irish Open getting a little burst of money in the prize fund and going up to six million, so it’s all headed in the right direction,” he said ahead of the St Jude in Memphis.
“I think it’s wonderful for everyone involved. I’ve always said we’re all in this thing together and we need to be pulling in the same direction and this is the start of it, which is great.
“I’ve sat in all those, the Player Advisory Council meeting discussions. There were two board calls a couple weeks ago to get it over the line. I’ve been privy to those conversations and it’s great that all the parties involved were able to agree on the sort of smaller details and get it done.
“Hopefully down the line the Irish Open, you know, I think it’s the start of something a little, I don’t know what the word is, bigger or more substantial, but hopefully one day you could maybe see the Irish Open becoming similar to what the Scottish Open has for next year.