Rory McIlroy reveals reason for RBC Heritage withdrawal after missing Masters cut - ‘I needed a break for me’

ByJames Hilsum

Published 03/05/2023 at 08:26 GMT

The Northern Irishman spoke openly and honestly about his reasons for withdrawing from the event after a disappointing performance at the Masters. The 33-year-old also missed the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January and could now miss out on bonus money from the PIP, which McIlroy earned £7.5 million from last year. McIlroy will return to action at the Wells Fargo Championship this week.

Rory McIlroy revealed the reason for withdrawing from the RBC Heritage event last month, citing his “mental and emotional wellbeing” as the main factor.

At the time, there was no explanation as to why McIlroy had pulled out of the event, which came after he missed the cut at the Masters.

He went to Augusta hoping to complete a career Grand Slam, but is now without a major win since 2014 having won The Open that year. That followed on from his successes he PGA Championship in 2012 and the U.S. Open in 2011.

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The Northern Irishman will now return to competition at the Wells Fargo Championship this week.

Speaking to the Golf Channel, he said: "I needed a break for me."

"Obviously, after the disappointment of Augusta, and it's been a pretty taxing 12 months mentally, so it was nice to just try to disconnect a little bit and get away from it.

"But it's nice to come back and feel refreshed and I think we're on a pretty busy run here from now until after the play-offs so I'm excited to get going.

"I think it was a combination of a few things, and just after the disappointment of Augusta and how I played there, it was just more for my mental and emotional wellbeing I just needed to be at home for those few weeks but, as I said, looking forward to getting back this week.

"I think I'm in a better headspace than I was. Yes, you know, that run-up to Augusta is always a stressful enough couple of weeks trying to make sure everything is in the right order and making sure your game is in good shape.

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"I think for me it was a nice reset because I still had to realise that there are three more majors this year, there is a ton left to play for."

McIlroy refused to speak to the media after missing the halfway cut in what was a hugely-frustrating Masters tournament.

After withdrawing from the RBC Heritage, the Northern Irishman has now missed two designated PGA Tour events this year.

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This is already one more than players ranked inside the top 20 of the circuit's Player Impact Program (PIP) can miss.

The 33-year-old also missed the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January and could now miss out on bonus money from the PIP, which McIlroy earned £7.5 million from last year.

McIlroy has a happy history at the Wells Fargo Championship after winning the event in 2010, 2015 and 2021 respectively.

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