EA's New PGA Tour Game Only Has Eight Courses, But Free DLC Coming

We already knew that Rory McIlroy PGA Tour would be missing Augusta National, the site of the iconic Masters tournament, but now we know other premiere courses also won't be found in the base package. EA Sports has confirmed that Rory McIlroy PGA Tour will ship with just eight courses on day one, down significantly from the most recent entry in the series, 2013's Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14.

The following eight courses are included with Rory McIlroy PGA Tour at launch:

• Wolf Creek (Mesquite, Nevada)
• TPC Sawgrass (Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida)
• Royal Troon (South Ayrshire, Scotland)
• TPC Boston (Boston, Massachusetts)
• Bay Hill (Orlando, Florida)
• Whistling Straits (Sheboygan, Wisconsin)
• St. Andrews (St. Andrews, Scotland)
• Chambers Bay (Puget Sound, Washington)

Golf fans will no doubt notice that famous courses like Pebble Beach and Torrey Pines, among others, are missing. It's also worth pointing out that Rory McIlroy PGA Tour will include a handful of "fantasy" courses that are totally invented and not based on any real-world location.

EA Sports has also confirmed the twelve professional golfers that will appear in Rory McIlroy PGA Tour at launch. According to Operation Sports, they are:

• Rory McIlroy
• Jordan Spieth
• Miguel Angel Jimenez
• Ian Poulter
• Hunter Mahan
• Brandt Snedeker
• Keegan Bradley
• Rickie Fowler
• Jonas Blixt
• Jason Dufner
• Patrick Rodgers
• Martin Kaymer

Not satisfied with the current lineup of courses and golfers? If so, you may be happy to learn that EA Sports is planning free, post-launch content updates, the developer announced on Twitter.

In addition, designer Justin Patel writes in the Operation Sports forums that Rory McIlroy PGA Tour will not be an annual release. Instead, EA Sports is treating the game more like a platform, releasing new content over time instead of all at once. EA Sports UFC took a similar approach.

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour launches on July 14 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4, but Xbox One owners with an EA Access membership can start playing five days early.

The game was originally expected to launch in June, but was later delayed so that EA could make sure the online infrastructure will be smooth and stable at release. Launching during the same week as the Open Championship at St. Andrews certainly doesn't hurt either.