Rory McIlroy's 2018 schedule will start in Abu Dhabi.
McIlroy said he will start the year with the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, Jan. 18-21, followed by his other typical United Arab Emirates opener Omega Dubai Desert Classic, Jan. 25-28. A rib injury suffered while finishing second in the 2017 South Africa Open likely scared him off anything before the Middle East swing.
McIlroy will make his first PGA Tour start of the year at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, entering that tournament for the first time. He'll then play in the 2018 Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club near Los Angeles the following week. He will head back home to Florida for The Honda Classic the next week, making it three in a row. After a week off, he'll play in Tampa at the Valspar Championship from March 8-11. From there, he will play in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, leading to the Masters.
Rory McIlroy will skip the WGC-Mexico Championship. At least it's not on his current schedule.
McIlroy will then likely take off until The Players. He'll, of course, compete in the other three majors and the World Golf Championships at Firestone Country Club, and he'll play in his Irish Open.
You can expect McIlroy to play in the FedEx Cup playoffs until elimination, then he'll prepare for the Ryder Cup at Le Golf National in France. He could play in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, a long favorite of his, before getting in starts to conclude the European Tour season, including the DP World Tour Championship.
