Rory McIlroy’s fellow PGA Tour stars appear to have little sympathy for the Northern Irishman after he pulled out of RBC Heritage this week, reportedly costing him $3 million.
This week’s $20 million tournament is one of the new shiny events on the PGA Tour – which McIlroy has helped lead and publicly endorses – with professionals required to play in all but one event.
The four-time big winner had already skipped the Sentry Tournament of Champions earlier this year, meaning his absence from Harbor Town should come with a price.
McIlroy is expected to lose $3 million of the $12 million he earned last year from his second-place finish in the Player Impact Program, according to Sports illustrated.
But his fine received little sympathy from his fellow professionals, as they insisted the Ulsterman ‘knew what was coming’.
Rory McIlroy’s decision to skip the RBC Heritage could reportedly cost him $3 million
“I feel like Rory was in charge of the changes made and he helped make the rules,” Netflix’s Full Swing star Joel Dahmen said via Sports illustrated.
“He knew what the rules were. So he knew what was coming. He’s got so much money too, he doesn’t care about $3 million.”
World No. 6 Xander Schauffele echoed Dahmen’s comments, stressing that most of the changes were what McIlroy wanted.
‘Rules are rules’, said Schauffele on Thursday after his round at the RBC Heritage. So, I mean, for the most part, a lot of what he wanted happens. And the irony is he’s not here.’
McIlroy’s friend Justin Thomas was a little less harsh about the decision, but admitted it shouldn’t come as a surprise to the world number 3.
“It doesn’t matter who you are, that’s a lot of money,” Thomas said of the $3 million. “We all knew at the beginning of 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, he finished second (in the PIP ranking).
“So it wasn’t a surprise to him or any of us, it was just sort of where he got into the rankings and not playing this week is a consequence I think.”
In the McIlroy-focused episode of Netflix’s docuseries, Full Swing, released in February, the 33-year-old admitted that some players were blindsided by the Commissioner’s “mandatory” lofty events, but he went on to defend to move .
Fellow pros Joel Dahmen (left) and Xander Schauffele (right) had little sympathy for McIlroy
“They were kind of blindsided by it,” McIlroy said. ‘That’s kind of the feeling. For example, we knew there would be four elevated events, but we didn’t know they were mandatory.”
Ironically, the incentive to play all but one of the designated events will be changed next year with financial setbacks not resulting from missing more than one of the events.
While the $3 million fine has been widely publicized and other players have not hesitated to talk about it, the PGA Tour itself has yet to make a public comment on the matter.
Commissioner Jay Monahan has complete discretion to fine or penalize a player under PGA Tour rules and, if he so chooses, may allow extenuating circumstances for McIlroy this week. But the Tour’s policy is not to announce fines or penalties.
Justin Thomas admitted the fine should come as no surprise to the world number 3
Commissioner Jay Monahan has full discretion to fine or penalize a player under Tour rules
However, McIlroy’s colleagues believe that Monahan has a duty to the rest of the Tour members to be transparent and communicate what exactly is happening sooner rather than later.
“I imagined him communicating with the members,” Schauffele said. ‘It’s a lot of money. It’s a big problem. Many people want to know what’s going on.’
Rickie Fowler agreed that any decision Monahan makes should be made public, saying, “I think there’s been a lot of talk about it over the last year, more transparency and just good communication between players on the tour.
“I think that includes you (the media). And ultimately, the more transparency and the more everyone is on the same wavelength, the better.’