Rory McIlroy Disappoints After Snubbing Media And Withdrawing From RBC Heritage

RORY McILROY will have won few fans after deciding to withdraw from the RBC Heritage at the magnificent Hilton Head in South Carolina. His decision came after he missed the cut at The Masters, having arrived at Augusta in buoyant mood.

It all went wrong almost from the off at Augusta. While the likes of Viktor Hovland, Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm were ripping up the course and starting their tournament with rounds of 65, McIlroy was battling to get it round in 72. And it all went downhill from that point.

After missing the cut, the Northern Irishman refused to do any media interviews. Given how keen he is to address the media when it suits him, this was especially disappointing. 

We all understand how upset he was by his standard of play at the tournament he needs to win to secure the career grand slam. But skulking off without speaking to anybody smacks of the behaviour of a spoilt child - as does withdrawing from the RBC Heritage without any reason.

Surely the best response to what happened at Augusta National would have been for him to bounce straight back and show us what he is made of. His decision is also likely to land him in hot water as this tournament is one of the PGA Tour’s designated events. 

Players ranked in the top 20 of the circuit's Player Impact Program (PIP) - created to reward players for boosting engagement and publicity in the PGA Tour - are allowed to skip only one designated event per season.

McIlroy has already sat out the season-opening Sentry Tournament of Champions in January.

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

This second absence could potentially cost him bonus money from the PIP, which is distributed at the end of the PGA Tour season and which earned McIlroy £7.5m in 2022. Not that he needs the money.

McIlroy has form for going missing when things are not going his way and it has to be said that it is deeply disappointing. 

He has millions of fans all over the world and Paul McGinley, Nick Faldo, Ewen Murray and Butch Harmon were just four of the pundits who predicted this was going to be his year at Augusta National.

He may be growing weary of having to answer when asked: Rory, will you ever win The Masters? But it’s the nature of the beast. Until or unless he ever dons the Green Jacket, he is going to be asked about his failures.

Walking away without fulfilling his media duties was both churlish and unprofessional. Failing to play at Hilton Head without any good reason for withdrawing falls into the same category.

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