DP World Tour Eyes Bigger Future: Kinnings Hails McIlroy as 2027 Expansion Looms

The DP World Tour is planning to grow its way out of golf's most uncertain era. Chief executive Guy Kinnings revealed in an interview published Thursday that the 2027 season will feature 17 national opens, up from 13 this year, as the tour deepens its cooperation with the PGA Tour under CEO Brian Rolap on full-year playing opportunities. Kinnings singled out Rory McIlroy as an "immense asset" to the European circuit — a notable public embrace at a time when the game's landscape keeps shifting. The remarks land amid the fallout from the LIV Golf saga, with Jon Rahm's departure and the breakaway league's bankruptcy proceedings leaving players and schedules in flux. The tour has business to handle this week too. The Open de España is underway at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid from October 8–11, with a $3.75 million purse and Marco Penge defending the title — the kind of historic national open the tour wants more of in its expanded future. With Rahm gone from LIV's roster and the 2027 schedule taking shape, the DP World Tour is betting that more flagship events and a tighter bond with the PGA Tour is the answer to the game's fragmentation.