Rory McIlroy unloads on James Hahn over meeting no-show

May 30, 2019; Dublin, OH, USA; Rory McIlroy looks on during the first round of the 2019 Memorial golf tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

The PGA Tour recently approved more radical changes that will go into effect for the 2024 season. James Hahn was quick to express to the media how much he dislikes the new format, but he passed up on an opportunity to do the same behind closed doors with his peers. Rory McIlroy was not pleased about that.

Beginning next year, the PGA Tour’s so-called designated events, which were introduced this season with minimum purses of $20 million, will no longer have 36-hole cuts. The size of the fields will also be reduced, with the goal being to have better players locked into all four days. Hahn told Golfweek that he hates the changes and criticized players and Tour officials for pretending the new format is not all about money.

“Right now, they’re just covering their a– and saying everything that the PGA Tour basically has trained them to say, have taught them to say and try to make it not about money when everyone knows 100 percent it’s about more guaranteed money being funneled to the top players in the world,” Hahn said. “We’ve been talking about money for the last two years, and for them not to say that that’s not the No. 1 reason why they’re making these changes — it’s very, very hypocritical.”

PGA Tour golfers held a player meeting on Tuesday morning, and Hahn was not present. After the meeting concluded, McIlroy told reporters that it was a “slap in the face” for Hahn to blast the new changes publicly and then no-show the meeting.

Rory says player meeting turnout was good—but noted James Hahn's absence.

"Like, you say all this s— and you’re not even in the meeting? If you want to get informed and be a part of the process—the fact that he wasn't even in the room was a slap in the face to everyone there."

— Dylan Dethier (@dylan_dethier) March 7, 2023

“Like, you say all this s— and you’re not even in the meeting? If you want to get informed and be a part of the process … the fact that he wasn’t even in the room was a slap in the face to everyone there,” McIlroy said.

Hahn is not exactly a household name, but this is not the first time he has ripped the PGA Tour. He qualified for the Players Championship this year because he finished 113th in the FedEx Cup standings in 2022. If the new changes had already gone into effect, the 41-year-old would not have been invited to play in the Players Championship.

We have already seen some top PGA players support the new changes, which is hardly a surprise. Hahn is right that they are aimed at bringing in more money for everyone involved.

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