Rory McIlroy has been accused of breaking the PGA Tour rules he helped to make, after withdrawing from this week's RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links.
McIlroy is reportedly facing a $3million sanction from the Tour after opting out of the event. The RBC Heritage is one of the Tour's 17 tournaments that received elevated status following Jay Monahan's revamp amid the ongoing threat of their rivals LIV Golf.
Heading into the 2023 season the circuit's top players were informed they were only allowed to withdraw from one elevated event throughout the campaign, or face losing a chunk of their Player Impact Programme (PIP) bonus.
And this is the golden rule McIlroy appears to have broken, having already used up his one opt-out token when pulling out of the Sentry Tournament of Champions earlier this year. The withdrawal has seemingly left the PGA Tour in an awkward position, with McIlroy playing such a pivotal part in their 2023 changes.
Fellow Tour pro Joel Dahmen seemingly has no sympathy for McIlroy though, with he more than anyone aware of the rules in place. "I feel like Rory was leading the charge on the changes that have been made and he helped make the rules," he said.
"He knew what the rules were. So, he knew what was coming." Pity was in short supply at the RBC Heritage with Olympic champion Xander Schauffele sharing a similar view to that of Dahmen. "Rules are the rules," said Schauffele.
"So, I mean, for the most part, a lot of what he [McIlroy] wanted is what's happening. And the irony is that he's not here.” Offering some sort of potential explanation, Dahmen claimed the McIlroy may not 'care' about the hefty fine due to his riches.
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Two-time major champion Justin Thomas disagrees though, claiming the $3m would leave a hole in the pocket of any of the PGA Tour stars. Thomas commented: "It doesn't matter who you are, that's a ton of money.
“All of us knew going into 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, finishing second (In the PIP rankings). So, it wasn't a surprise to him or any of us it just was kind of where he ended up in the rankings and not playing this week is I guess a consequence.”
