CHARLOTTE, NC — When asked to describe his disappointment about missing out on the Masters tournament, after entering the season’s first major tournament as a heavy favorite in early April, Rory McIlroy gave a candid two-word answer: “It sucks.”
“It sucked,” McIlroy said Tuesday during his first interview with reporters since missing the cut at Augusta National Golf Club. “It wasn’t the performance I thought I was going to do, it wasn’t the performance I wanted. Just incredibly disappointing. But I needed some time to regroup. And focus on what lies ahead.”
So much so, that McIlroy may have sacrificed $3 million of the $12 million bonus he earned through the PGA Tour’s Player Impact Program in 2022 when he skipped RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, South Carolina, the following week.
McIlroy said he knew he would be fined for failing to play in the RBC Heritage, a $20 million purse designated event.
“My brain just wasn’t there,” McIlroy said. “It was more important to me to be home than there.”
Under the new tour guidelines, top players are required to play in all but one of the 12 new designated events, with the exception of the Grand Slam and The Players Championship. McIlroy had already moved past the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January. Top players who lose more than 1 player will lose 25% of their PIP bonus.
“We definitely have the bottom line,” McIlroy said. “Obviously, we signed up for this particular series of events this year. I obviously knew the consequences of missing out on one of these events. It was an easy decision, but I felt that if it was good or anything that would happen it would be worth it for me than To get some stuff.”
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan is allowed to waive the fine if the player gives a legitimate reason for withdrawing from another specified event. The PGA Tour is repealing the rule that requires players to compete in all but one of the upcoming seasons.
McIlroy and 15-time major champion Tiger Woods were among the players who helped Monahan reshape the PGA Tour schedule in response to the threat of the Saudi Arabia-funded LIV golf tournament.
“I had reasons not to play Hilton Head,” McIlroy said. “I expressed it to Jay and whether he thinks that’s enough to justify it… You know, look again, I understood the consequences of that decision before I made it, so whatever happens, happens.”
McIlroy will make his first start since the Masters at this week’s Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club. He said he didn’t pick up his golf clubs for two weeks after failing for the ninth consecutive time to complete a grand slam by winning the Masters title. He spent the weekend in New York to celebrate his birthday with his wife, Erica.
“I think the last 12 months with everything that’s happened … has been a big 12 months,” McIlroy said. “I don’t know if I quite like sitting down to think about things. I haven’t really had a chance to think about St Andrews and everything that happened there.
“Just a lot of different things, and it was nice to only have three weeks to put all that stuff in the rearview mirror and try to focus on what’s coming up: three more majors, and the whole golf season still playing. It was a good three weeks doing all of that.” Sort of and freshening up and getting ready for the next three months.”