OPEN GNN RADIO MINI PLAYERRory McIlroy withdrew from this week's 2023 RBC Heritage on Monday, reducing the field for this week's PGA Tour event at Hilton Head Island, S.C., down to 143 players.
McIlroy was committed to the field at the tournament deadline, but he missed the cut badly at the Masters Tournament in his quest to complete the career Grand Slam and win a fifth-career major championship title. McIlroy, who finished third in the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play prior to the Masters, does not typically play in this tournament.
For the Ulsterman, this also marks the second designated tournament this year that he has missed. McIlroy skipped the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions. Under the PGA Tour rules set for players looking to draw money from the Player Impact Program for their popularity and name recognition, players were only allowed to miss one designated tournament and still collect from the $100 million pool. Now that is in doubt for McIlroy.
However, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has ultimate say on who receives money from the Player Impact Program if a player does not meet the schedule requirements. The same is also true for Tiger Woods, who is expected to collect again from the pool this year despite a limited-at-best schedule.
Will Zalatoris also withdrew from the tournament after announcing he had undergone a microdiscectomy procedure on his back on Saturday of the week of the Masters. Zalatoris, the world No. 8, had withdrawn from the first major of the year shortly before his Thursday first-round tee time.
