Rory McIlroy Has to Play by The Rules - And That Means Losing Big Money

RORY McILROY’S decision to withdraw from the RBC Heritage has won him few friends - and is likely to cost him a great deal of money. The tournament is one of the PGA Tour’s designated events - and at the start of the season players agreed that they would only be allowed to sit out one of them. McIlroy had already done that when he opted out of the Tournament of Champions.

McIlroy withdrew from the Heritage after failing to make the cut at The Masters - no reason was given for his withdrawal. It would have been no surprise had Masters champion Jon Rahm decided to sit out the week after his exertions at Augusta National but the Spaniard made the effort.

McIlroy’s withdrawal seemed childish and churlish, especially given the part he played in helping to set up these designated events.

So it should surprise nobody that many of his fellow players want to know how he is going to be punished. Traditionally, the PGA Tour refuses to publicly account any punishments meted out to players, but this is different.

McIlroy cannot expect to be allowed to help set the new rules and then not abide by them. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan is expected to dock McIlroy $3m - a quarter of the $12m PIP money he won in 2022. It truly is ironic that McIlroy  should be the first player to break the rules that he helped set up.

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

And McIlroy’s rivals have been quick to point out that very thing. Xander Schauffele said: “Rules are rules, A lot of what Rory wanted is what's happening. And the irony is that he's not here at Hilton Head.”

Joel Dahmen agreed. He said: “I feel Rory was leading the charge on the changes that have been made and he helped make the rules. He knew what the rules were. So, he knew what was coming. He also has so much money, he doesn't care about $3 million.”

PGA champion Justin Thomas took issue with Dahmen’s view that McIlroy doesn’t care about the money. “It doesn't matter who you are, that's a ton of money,” said Thomas. “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.”

World number two Scottie Scheffler is one of a number of players who has called for clarity. “It's a lot of money. It's a big deal. A lot of people want to know what's going on,” Scheffler said. “I hope Mr Monahan will tell us if he has decided to enforce a fine or excuse Rory due to extenuating circumstances. I imagine he'd communicate to the membership”.

Rickie Fowler also wants a public announcement, saying that transparency is vital. He said: “That's a big thing that's been talked about for the last year, is having more transparency and just good communication between players the tour.

“I think that includes the media as well. And ultimately, the more transparency and the more everyone's on the same page, the better.”

All of these players are correct. McIlroy needs to be held to account - and needs to be done so in public.