Rory McIlroy has been a no-show on the PGA Tour since winning back-to-back Masters.
The six-time major winner proved he does not need to play himself into form to win the majors, as he did not play for weeks before winning The Masters. And it’s clear that McIlroy has no plans to overstress himself heading into the PGA Championship either.
Advertisement
McIlroy didn’t play the RBC Heritage the week after The Masters. That was to be expected as he celebrated his second-straight Green Jacket. He then didn’t play in the Zurich Classic with Shane Lowry, but that was confirmed months in advance.
What is truly surprising, however, is that McIlroy isn’t in the field for the Cadillac Championship at Trump Doral. This is the second Signature Event in a row that the Northern Irishman is missing.
And golf fans really don’t know how to feel about it.
Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Golf fans are divided on Rory McIlroy’s decision to skip the Cadillac Championship
McIlroy’s decision to skip the Cadillac is clearly disappointing for fans. We all want to see him play as often as possible. But some fans called him a hypocrite for not playing.
Advertisement
When McIlroy took a stand against LIV Golf upon the Saudi-backed league’s debut, he called for PGA Tour players to play more often. He’s not taking his own advice here, and that rubbed some fans the wrong way.
One posted to X: “Self-designated ‘ambassador of golf’ and ‘face of the PGA’ nowadays just skips playing the PGA Tour and just plays the majors and money grab DP World tour events in the Middle East. Great golfer, but I can’t stand him.”
Trump Doral is new to the calendar this year, and one fan criticized McIlroy for not playing it: “Way to show up for the new event on the calendar this year Rors.”
Other fans, however, understood that at this stage of his career, McIlroy is focused only on stacking major championships. That’s the only way he can bolster his legacy.
Advertisement
One fan posted: “He will only play in majors now that he has the grand slam. I don’t blame him, he doesn’t need to. He’ll play majors and the playoffs and that’s probably it.”
Another also blamed the PGA Tour schedule, which didn’t have a Signature Event between The Players and The Masters, but now has three before the PGA Championship.
They said, “Golf fans are so soft. Dude just won the Masters and is in his late 30s. Maybe he wants to relax w/family in friends. Does it actually matter he isn’t playing the world famous ‘Cadillac Championship’.
“Maybe the PGA Tour shouldn’t have a signature event the week after a major?”
Advertisement
McIlroy was at the heart of controversy at The Masters for spending the weeks before the event practicing at Augusta National. The criticism was ridiculous, as it’s no different to what other greats of the game like Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus once did.
But one fan decided to have some fun with those attempting to discredit McIlroy’s Masters win, joking that he’s already at Aronimink preparing for the PGA Championship: “Beautiful idea.
“150 holes at Aronimink next week. Needs to learn every inch of the course so we can gain that advantage! 😍💪 Back to his playground at Quail the week after. Into the PGA feeling nice and perfect readiness. 👀🏆”
Michael Kim responds to Rory McIlroy skipping the Cadillac Championship
Even one of McIlroy’s PGA Tour competitors weighed in on his decision to skip Doral. Michael Kim, who is always active on X, took to the social media platform to share his thoughts.
Advertisement
He said, “I hope to get to a point where I decide to skip a signature event even when healthy.”
It seems that Kim is tipping his hat to McIlroy, saying that he has earned the right to skip these events because of the legacy he’s built for himself over the last 16 years.
It should be every player’s aim to get to the point where they can dictate their own schedule, so fair play to him.
Read the full article here
