Rory McIlroy will indeed lose $3 million he would have earned from the PGA Tour's Player Impact Program fund because he withdrew from his last scheduled start at the 2023 RBC Heritage.
McIlroy had earned a $12 million sum from the $100 million Player Impact Program (PIP) based on his finish in the 2022 standings of the program ranking based on a variety of metrics that seek to identify the PGA Tour players who have the most influence on ratings and the tour's visibility and popularity. Every player who earned money from the 2022 PIP based on the final ranking were paid 75 percent, with 25 percent withheld pending a player's fulfillment of their participation in the slate of designated events this year. Players were given one skip, meaning they could choose to not participate in one designated tournament for which they were eligible without endangering their earnings.
McIlroy skipped the year-opening Sentry Tournament of Champions, taking his one event off to kick off 2023. Once he withdrew from the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town after missing the cut in the Masters the week prior, he put $3 million at risk.
The PGA Tour has since confirming commissioner Jay Monahan has told McIlroy he will not be getting that money.
"When we made the commitment to this schedule with the Player Impact Program, we adjusted for one opt-out and for any second opt-out, you forfeit 25% unless there were some medical issues," Monahan said during a media session ahead of this week's Wells Fargo Championship. "When you’re in a situation like that, you just have to look at the criteria. In terms of any situation like that, we’re going to look at a situation and we’re going to make a decision."
McIlroy said it was not a medical issue prohibiting him from playing on Hilton Head Island, though he did say the break was for a personal reason and that it did relate to "mental health," but he was aware of the potential consequences.
"We certainly have our minimums, we obviously signed up for this designated-event series this year," McIlroy said. “I obviously knew the consequences that could come with missing one of those. It was an easy decision, but I felt like if that fine or whatever is to happen was worth that for me in order to get some things in place."
