Rory McIlroy risks PGA Tour wrath after mysterious exit after Masters

Rory McIlroy had the Masters to make sure he missed the weekend by entering the Major with full confidence. Photo: Getty Images/Christian Petersen

Rory McIlroy was supposed to reveal all about his regrettable blunder at The Masters on Tuesday, but the world No. 3 decided to keep quiet, missing out on RBC Heritage.

Everyone was surprised when Monday news came of McIlroy's departure at the 11th hour without explanation. The $20 million tournament, which kicks off at Hilton Head on Thursday, is one of the PGA Tour's «special events» introduced this season with McIlroy's involvement as a counter to the LIV Golf threat.

Under Tour rules, which are linked to the $100 million Player Influencer Program (PIP), which rewards the top 20 personalities with the most media and social media exposure, golfers must participate in at least 12 of the 13 designated tournaments. . McIlroy has already missed one — the year-opening Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii — so it's unclear if he won't be eligible after earning $12 million in 2022 for finishing second to Tiger Woods. at PIP.

< p> The first prize at Heritage is $3.5 million, which is actually $260,000 more than John Rahm received for his success at the Masters on Sunday. Ram himself, along with 20 other participants from the top 25 players in the world, plays at the Harbor Town circuit.

Without details of any injury — McIlroy's management did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication — one can only speculate that the fallout from his most recent Masters loss is to blame. It was his ninth attempt at a career-ending Grand Slam to join Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen in the pantheon.

McIlroy arrived in Georgia with such confidence, finishing third in the WGC Match Play two weeks prior and stated that his second-place finish at the 2022 Masters saw him shrug off the Augusta demons that had haunted him since his failure in 2011 at the season's first Major.

But a 72 -77 performance — which left him five more and five shots behind 63-year-old Fred Par — inevitably only reinforces the conviction that scar tissue still exists. McIlroy declined to speak to the media after his second round.

The next scheduled event is three weeks later at Quayle Hollow, where McIlroy has won three times. Three weeks from now, the PGA USA Championship will take place in Oak Hill, Rochester, where McIlroy will again attempt his first major title in nine years.