Rory McIlroy withdraws from tournament despite Masters leader being fined millions before | Golf | Sport
Rory McIlroy is on the brink of his second Green Jacket after a stunning 65 in the second round of the Masters – but has withdrawn from his next tournament. He would become just the fourth player in Masters history to win back-to-back titles, with Tiger Woods the last to do so back in 2002.
McIlroy had shared the lead after day one, but the Northern Irishman knew exactly when to put his foot on the accelerator in round two, giving himself a commanding six-stroke lead over joint second-place Sam Burns and Patrick Reed. McIlroy stands on the precipice of history, but the reigning champion has already put plans in place for the week after the Masters.
That’s because, once again, McIlroy is opting to sit out the upcoming RBC Heritage in South Carolina. It’s the first tournament after the Masters, and McIlroy has often opted to miss the event as he recovers from the opening major championship of the year.
McIlroy didn’t take part in the event last year, but three years ago, the golf icon was slapped with a hefty punishment for his withdrawal. That’s because PGA Tour rules at the time meant players weren’t able to miss two signature events in a year – something McIlroy fell foul of in 2023.
The fine was a significant one too, amd it cost him a whopping £2.2million, but the rules have since been changed, meaning the world No.2 will be allowed to miss the RBC Heritage without being punished. McIlroy has already skipped several tournaments this year – something he’s credited for his impressive performance at Augusta National this week.
Speaking about his preparations for the 2026 tournament, he explained: “I honestly just don’t like the three tournaments leading up to this event. I’d rather come up here. I did a couple of days where I dropped [daughter] Poppy to school, flew up here, played, landed back home and had dinner with Poppy and [wife] Erica.
“I did a couple of day trips like that where I felt it was a better use of my time than going to Houston or San Antonio. It wasn’t really about conserving energy, but just I felt the more time I could spend up here, the better.”
He continued: “I’ve been on this golf course so much the last three weeks. That has been a combination of practice and chipping and putting around greens, and then just playing one ball and shooting scores and ending up in weird places that you maybe never find yourself and just trying to figure it out. I think just spending so much time up here has been a big part of it.”
