Rory McIlroy’s fellow PGA pros have taken note of his surprising absence this week.
McIlroy was the face of the players’ movement to have designated events and more lucrative prizes for the PGA Tour’s top names.
And now, he is missing one of the AU$30 million designated events — the RBC Heritage Open — that he pushed to have added to the schedule after a slew of the best players in the world defected to LIV Golf.
“Rules are the rules,” Xander Schauffele said, according to Sports Illustrated.
“So, I mean, for the most part, a lot of what he wanted is what’s happening. And the irony is that he’s not here.”
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It is the second designated event McIlroy has missed this season and SI.com reported it will cost the Northern Irishman $4.5 million from his Player Impact Program earnings.
“I feel like Rory was leading the charge on the changes that have been made and he helped make the rules,” Joel Dahmen told reporters after the first round of the RBC Heritage.
“He knew what the rules were. So, he knew what was coming. He also has so much money, he doesn’t care about US$3 million.”
McIlroy, who previously missed the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January, made the decision to skip this week’s tournament after missing the cut at The Masters last week.
Most of the top players, including Masters champion Jon Rahm, are in the field for the event.
“It doesn’t matter who you are, that’s a ton of money,” said Justin Thomas, who also missed the cut at the 2023 Masters.
“All of us knew going into the year what the situation was and what we had to do to get extra X or Y and for him Y is a lot in this situation, finishing second (in the PIP rankings).
“So, it wasn’t a surprise to him or any of us it just was kind of where he ended up in the rankings and not playing this week is I guess a consequence.”
Why exactly McIlroy is not in South Carolina has remained a mystery.
Some have questioned the PGA Tour’s decision to have one of the eight new designated events following the Masters.
The 33-year-old McIlroy and his representatives did not respond to SI.com when asked for comment.
“It’s messy,” U.S. Open champ Matt Fitzpatrick said earlier in the week.
“I think in a few years once it’s a bit more structured it should be a little better.”
This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission
