PGA Tour commish says Rory McIlroy to lose $3M of PIP bonus - ESPN

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan confirmed Wednesday that Rory McIlroy will lose $3 million of his Player Impact Program bonus from 2022 for missing a second designated event last month.

Last year, McIlroy finished second to Tiger Woods in the PIP program, which measures a player's popularity and impact on tour. McIlroy was set to collect $12 million. Instead, he'll get $9 million after forfeiting 25% of the bonus for not making a start in the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

It was the second time McIlroy opted out of a new designated event this season. He also skipped the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii in January. PGA Tour rules require players to compete in all but one this season.

«When we made the commitment to this schedule with the Player Impact Program, we adjusted for one opt-out,» Monahan said. «Then for any second opt-out, you forfeit the 25%, unless there was a medical issue. Based on that criteria, it's actually fairly cut-and-dry.»

On Tuesday, McIlroy told reporters at the Wells Fargo Championship that he needed time to mentally recharge after missing the cut at the Masters. It was the ninth straight time he failed to win the green jacket that would complete his career grand slam. He said his «mind wouldn't have been there» if he had played in the RBC Heritage the next week.

«As [McIlroy] laid it out, if a player is going to miss a second event to reset and to refresh, then he knew that and he knew, as he said, the consequences,» Monahan said. «First of all, a player should be able to make a decision not to play. I think that's the beauty of our model. But he knows the consequences of that based on our criteria, and that's our position.»

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