‘I would argue the Irish Open's case with Fred, all day’ — McIlroy urges Augusta to give Irish Open Masters exemption

Rory McIlroy and Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley

Rory McIlroy admits he’s been in the ear of Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley about handing the Amgen Irish Open winner a Masters invitation.

However, it remains to be seen if Chairman Ridley sees the Irish Open as an event needing such a boost, given that 17 players in the field at Trump International Golf Links & Hotel in Doonbeg this week teed it up at Augusta National in April.

“What do you think?” McIlroy joked when asked by the Irish Independent whether he’d recommend that Augusta add the Irish Open champion to the list of national open winners who receive Masters starts, joining the Scottish, Spanish, Japanese, Hong Kong, Australian and South African Open winners.

“Of course. I spoke to Chairman Ridley about this a lot and I really applaud their dedication to international golf and getting behind some of the international opens.

“Obviously the Asia-Pacific Amateur, the Latin America Amateur Championship, they have done great jobs with them and it give these exemptions to these larger National Opens, I would certainly sit there and argue The Irish Open's case with Fred, all day.

“I think, hopefully, at some point, it's inevitable that that would become a reality.”

This week’s Irish Open field includes McIlroy himself and fellow Masters champions Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed, Sergio García and Danny Willett.

But it also includes Robert MacIntyre, Tyrrell Hatton, Sepp Straka , Nicolai Højgaard, Shane Lowry, Harry Hall, Casey Jarvis, Rasmus Højgaard, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Brooks Koepka, Haotong Li  and Tom McKibbin.

The odds that the Irish Open winner isn’t already exempt for the Masters are probably 50-50, which could colour Augusta National’s thinking.

However, the PGA Tour’s new Championship Series, which comes into effect in 2028, will likely mean fewer players qualifying as winners of full FedExCup point events.

The Sentry,  the Sony Open in Hawaii and the Rocket Mortgage Classic have already been dropped from the 2027 schedule.