What Rory McIlroy said about Signature Events in 2023 now looks genuinely absurd

Rory McIlroy is not going to be taking part in within the fifth Signature Occasion of the PGA Tour season subsequent week on the Cadillac Championship.

McIlroy missed out on the fourth Signature Occasion of 2026 on the RBC Heritage as properly.

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The Masters champion is clearly tailoring his schedule round peaking for the majors now.

Rory McIlroy has achieved greater than most throughout his time within the recreation, with 30 PGA Tour wins to his title, together with six main championships.

Because of his standing within the recreation, he’s free to select and select when he performs.

McIlroy has triggered the PGA Tour an enormous drawback by not committing to taking part in in sure Signature Occasions.

The entire level in creating the designated occasions was to make sure that the most effective gamers on the PGA Tour competed towards one another extra frequently.

Consequently, sponsors have began to commit much more cash to the Tour.

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What Rory McIlroy mentioned about Signature Occasions in 2023

McIlroy triggered considerably of a stir this weekend when it was introduced that he wouldn’t be taking part in within the Cadillac Championship at Trump Nationwide Doral.

In equity, he was not the one high participant who didn’t decide to the match, with the likes of Ludvig Aberg, Xander Schauffele, Robert MacIntyre and Matt Fitzpatrick selecting to overlook the occasion.

Nonetheless, if McIlroy stood by what he mentioned three years in the past, he could be teeing it up in Miami subsequent week.

Forward of the Genesis Invitational in 2023, McIlroy responded when requested what he believes the Signature Occasions must be all about.

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“The perfect gamers must be taking part in in them,“ McIlroy insisted.

“In the end, the PGA Tour must be constructed round the most effective gamers, as a result of that’s what will maximize the worth of the product.“

These feedback clearly appear completely meaningless now.

How do the PGA Tour resolve Rory McIlroy problem?

McIlroy missed three Signature Occasions in 2025, and he’ll solely have performed three out of the primary 5 by the point the Cadillac Championship rolls round.

The Northern Irishman can’t be blamed for doing what he thinks is true for his profession.

PGA Tour golfers are unbiased contractors and McIlroy will not be obligated to play in any tournaments that he doesn’t need to.

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Maybe the onus is on the PGA Tour to alter the principles in order that it turns into obligatory for gamers to enter at the very least six Signature Occasions per season.

However how on earth would they implement that? Fining McIlroy could be a futile train and so they actually couldn’t ban him from taking part in different Signature Occasions – that may simply be a counterproductive train.

The reality of the matter is that the PGA Tour are literally powerless to cease Rory McIlroy from skipping Signature Occasions.

And that in itself proves that the mannequin doesn’t really work.