As many elite golfers played the Travelers Championship 2026 on Thursday, a video of Sir Nick Faldo speaking with Rory McIlroy at Royal Birkdale went viral. With just three weeks left for the Open Championship, the Northern Irishman was practicing on the course. The clip drew its own debate about early course access. But for analyst Brendan Porath, the more pressing question was the simple fact that McIlroy wasn’t at the Travelers at all. Or at Heritage before it.

“There is a notable absence. Roy McIlroy, I found it funny. Probably didn’t expect to be on social media. Sir Nick Faldo, as the rest of the tour is playing Thursday. Well, like, how’s Rory going to stay a member? What’s going on here? He skipped the Travelers. He skipped Heritage,” Porath asked, citing Bob Harig’s reporting, on The Shotgun Start podcast.

“Talking to the tour, he will fall short of the minimum of 15 events that is required to play via the, quote, Home Tour rule. But there apparently is an out. Quote, the commissioner, at his discretion, determines that a valid reason for not playing may reduce the 15 minimum. So that is gobbledygook to say we can make it up as we go along. Isn’t that convenient? They are bending the rules.”

The Home Tour rule requires PGA Tour members who also play on foreign tours, like McIlroy’s dual schedule across the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, to play at least 15 PGA Tour events per season to retain full playing privileges, including unlimited releases for conflicting events.

This season, Rory McIlroy has played only nine events so far, skipping many high-profile events he once used to play regularly. And his remaining 2026 schedule suggests he is unlikely to reach 15 PGA Tour events by season’s end. Still, the PGA Tour could make an exception for the two-time Masters champion.

Per Bob Harig’s reporting via Daily Drive, the relevant language from the 2026 PGA Tour player handbook reads:

“Notwithstanding the above, the Commissioner, upon application by a foreign member and for medical reasons or other extraordinary circumstances that the Commissioner, at his discretion, determines to be a valid reason for not playing in at least 15 PGA Tour cosponsored or approved tournaments, may reduce the 15-minimum (or 12-minimum, as the case may be) tournament requirement.”

So, Commissioner Jay Monahan can waive the requirement if he decides the circumstances justify it. And it’s that discretion that prompted Porath’s remark: “We can’t possibly be bending the rules if our rules just allow us to make up the rules.”