Regarding the fact that Rory McIlroy (34, Northern Ireland), a ‘signboard star’, forfeited 3 million dollars (approximately 4 billion won), which is part of the Players Impact Program (PIP) bonus, he said, “I don’t think that will be the result.” I knew that,” he said indifferently.
McIlroy will appear on the 5th (Korean time) in about 4 weeks at the Wells Fargo Championship (total prize money of 20 million dollars) of the US Professional Golf (PGA) Tour held at the Quail Harlow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.
“I skipped RBC Heritage last month to recharge after a disappointing week at the Masters,” he said after missing the cut at the Masters Tournament, the first major tournament of the season, earlier last month.
The Masters is the only tournament left for McIlroy to achieve his long-cherished career, the ‘Career Grand Slam’. McIlroy has risen to the top of three major tournaments: the US Open (2011), the PGA Championship (2012/2014), and the Open Championship (2014), and has not won a major for nine years since 2014.
In this Masters, McIlroy was a strong candidate for the championship, but he was disappointed because he missed the cut.
The problem is that RBC Heritage, which McIlroy did not participate in, was one of the designated special events in which the top players who received the PIP bonus of the PGA Tour must participate. Players can skip one of the special events if there is a reason, but since McIlroy used this exemption at the Sentry Tournament of Champions last January, he had to participate in the remaining special events.
Because this was the second time he did not participate in the special competition, he forfeited 3 million dollars, or 25% of the 12 million dollars (approximately 16.03 billion won) of bonuses allocated to him for finishing second in the PIP category last year. McIlroy received only 75% of his bonus earlier this year, according to the US Golf Channel.
“I knew what the consequences (forfeiture of some of the bonuses) would be if I didn’t play at the RBC Heritage,” McIlroy said. However, it was an easy decision for him not to attend. It was worthwhile enough for me to prepare for other things.”
“I had a reason not to attend the event, and I told Commissioner Jay Monahan about it,” he said. I don’t know if he thinks my reasons are good enough,” he added.
PGA Tour rules allow for some flexibility in case a player is injured. ‘Golf Emperor’ Tiger Woods (USA) ranked first in the PIP bonus last season, and has played extremely limited tournaments due to injury for the past three years, but has received a PIP bonus of 15 million dollars (approximately 20.4 billion won). will be received in full. ㅋㅋㅋ벳
Commissioner Monahan said, “There is an opt-out clause that allows you to miss the special event once. As long as there are no problems such as injury or medical problems, he will forfeit 25% of the PIP bonus in the event of a second absence from the special event,” he explained.
As for his reasons for not attending RBC Heritage, McIlroy cited the exhaustion of the season as well as the disappointment of the Masters. He acts as a spokesperson for the current PGA Tour, which is in constant conflict with LIV Golf, and as the Players Director of the Policy Committee, he is a vocal advocate for changes to the tour schedule and overall structure.