Rory McIlroy called on July 14 to lengthen the golf major championship calendar beyond the current compressed four-month period during the final major of 2026 at Royal Birkdale in England [1, 2, 3].
The current major season spans approximately 14 weeks, starting with the Masters in April, followed by the PGA Championship in May, the U.S. Open in June, and concluding with The Open in July [3]. This tight schedule was established seven years ago when the PGA Championship was moved from August to May, compressing the four majors into a short timeframe [1, 2, 3].
McIlroy, pursuing his seventh major title at Royal Birkdale, noted positives in spreading out the majors for the game’s general interest but acknowledged that playing majors close together can benefit players on a hot streak. He said, "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... I can see the positives in the major season being stretched out a little bit longer" [1].
The Northern Irish golfer won his only Open Championship 12 years ago and has long favored Royal Birkdale, calling it one of the fairest and most enjoyable links courses on the Open rotation. "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," McIlroy said. "The fairways aren’t overly undulating ... 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" [2].
Currently, three of the four majors take place in the United States with The Open as the only major held outside America. Jon Rahm, a fellow top player, supports adding more geographically diverse majors beyond the U.S., mentioning potential venues in Australia, Europe, and Asia to reflect golf’s global reach. Rahm stated, "Having a major in Australia could be very successful. Having two in Europe would also be good fun. The same in Asia. I think there would be some great places to possibly have them" [3].
After the Open at Royal Birkdale, there is an eight-and-a-half-month gap before the 2027 major season begins, highlighting the current season’s uneven distribution [3]. The Open Championship organizers plan to host a future event at Portmarnock in the Republic of Ireland, which could further expand major venues internationally [3].
