Rory McIlroy Explains His (Potentially) $3 Million Withdrawal After The Masters

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Sometimes, ya just need a break. 

That's what Rory McIlroy said, in so many words, at a FedEx corporate function ahead of this week's Wells Fargo Championship. These were his first public comments since a bitterly disappointing missed cut at the Masters in his most recent attempt to become just the sixth man to complete the career Grand Slam. 

More germane to this story, they were also his first comments since he decided to withdraw from the following week's RBC Heritage—a decision that could end up costing him $3 million dollars. This year on the PGA Tour, players are required to play all but one designated event if they are to get all of their money from the Player Impact Program, the tour's fund to reward players for the positive attention they bring to golf. McIlroy finished second in the PIP standings last year, good for $12 million. He received $9 million of that in January, but the final $3 million was contingent upon him missing only one designated event. 

McIlroy skipped the first designated event of the year at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, which meant his WD from the Heritage in theory disqualified him from receiving his full bonus. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule—injury being the main one. But, per the man himself, it seems like McIlroy just needed a break from golf. And not just playing it, either. 

"It sucked. It sucked," McIlroy told reporters  of the Masters on Tuesday. "It’s not the performance I obviously thought I was going to put up. Nor was it the performance I wanted. Just incredibly disappointing. But I needed some time to regroup. And focus on what’s ahead."

"I think the last 12 months with everything that’s went on … it’s been a big 12 months. I don’t know I fully, like, sat down to really reflect on stuff. I never really had a chance to think about the Open at St. Andrews and everything that went on there….It was nice to have three weeks to just put all that stuff in the rearview mirror and focus on what’s ahead. Three more majors. The entire golf season still to play. It was a good three weeks to sort of do all that and get refreshed and get ready for the next few months."

McIlroy, of course, has played a leading role in shaping the PGA Tour's response to the existential threat posed by LIV Golf. He's spent countless hours in meetings and on calls and helped create the designated event model that's debuting this year. 

There will be no requirement for anyone to play in the designated events in 2024, when the PGA Tour will return to a calendar-year schedule and do away with the wraparound format its had since 2013. This season's schedule is viewed internally as a patch-job of sorts, with next year better reflecting the tour's goals as far as the pacing of designated events. 

McIlroy is a three-time winner of the Wells Fargo Championship, most recently winning at Quail Hollow in 2021.