Rory McIlroy Shows Poor Leadership By Skipping The RBC Heritage

One name that was not amongst the field on the weekend was world #3 Rory McIlroy. After an opening round 72, he carded a 77 in the second round to miss his 2^nd cut in Masters history. After the poor performance, Rory withdrew from the RBC Heritage before the tournament started and many fans and fellow golfers are not happy with his decision.

New Elevated Events

Starting this season on the PGA Tour "Designated Events" have been enacted to give focus to the top players and top events. 14 PGA Tour events (plus 4 majors) are now “Designated Events" this season. These events will have higher purses, less competitors and, of course, more money. These events were created to counter the LIV Golf competition of less golf and more money.

In current landscape of the PGA Tour, events may have up to 156 players to start and will cut down to approximately top 70 and ties, the 2024 elevated events will only have approximately 70 golfers from the start. This allows the course and sponsors to have top-tier talent all week long and keeps the fans happy and engaged. The current 2023 elevated events wont have a guarantee of being elevated every single year, as rotations have been discussed as well.

Player Input Was Considered

For those of you that watched the Full Swing series on Netflix this past winter, you were able to see how this idea of events came to fruition. This was no question a spin-off of what is happening on the LIV Tour, however this was player approved and player formulated. There seemed to be some disconnect from with the players as these events were now mandatory this season for all players who finished in the Top 20 of the PIP (Player Impact Program).

Players are allowed to skip one elevated event per calendar golf year. The only player that currently has excused absences from these events is Tiger Woods due to his ongoing injuries. Players will not be required to play in elevated events in 2024 as of right now but this situation seems fluid.

McIlroy Not Leading By Example

I have always had a great amount of respect (and still do) for McIlroy and his dedication to being more than just a golfer but an ambassador of the game as well. His leadership and loyalty to the PGA Tour are commendable and should not go unnoticed. With that said, he should be playing this week at The RBC Heritage Classic. He skipped the Tournament of Champions (first elevated event of the season) which he was allowed to do.

The PGA Tour has "fined" Rory $3 Million dollars off his end of the season PIP payout. While that money is minimal to someone like Rory, there are many ticketholders, young golf fans and sponsors that expected him at the event. If you are going to be the "voice of reason" and leader for more money and better fields at events, then you he should be there for people who paid good money for tickets to the event. Even after a poor showing at Augusta, Rory must lead by example going forward to keep the sponsors happy, which in turn, keeps the money trickling in.

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