Rory McIlroy defended his decision to take a month’s break from competitive golf, calling it necessary for his “mental and emotional wellbeing”.
McIlroy has not played since missing the cut at last month’s Masters and made the costly decision to pull out of the subsequent RBC Heritage event.
The event was the second of the PGA Tour’s designated events that the Northern Irishman had missed this season. It means McIlroy will not have any multi-million-pound earnings from the Player Impact Program severely cut.
But the 33-year-old, who returns to action on Thursday for the first time since Augusta at the Wells Fargo Championship, told the Golf Channel: “I needed a break for me.
“Obviously after the disappointment of Augusta and it’s been a pretty taxing 12 months mentally, so it was nice to just try to disconnect a little bit and get away from it.
“I think it was a combination of a few things. It was just more for my mental and emotional wellbeing, I just needed to be at home for those few weeks.”
McIlroy had been among the favourites for victory at the Masters following his stellar final round in 2022, which resulted him finishing runner-up. But he missed the cut at Augusta for the second time in three years after scoring five-over par.
The former world No1 is a three-time winner of Wells Fargo, an event where he picked up the first PGA Tour win of his career, and he sounded a confidant note before teeing off the first round.
He said: “It’s nice to come back and feel refreshed and I think we’re on a pretty busy run here from now until after the play-offs so I’m excited to get going. I’m looking forward to getting back this week.
“I think I’m in a better headspace than I was. That run-up to Augusta is always a stressful enough couple of weeks trying to make sure everything is in the right order and making sure your game is in good shape.
“I think for me it was a nice reset because I still had to realise that there are three more majors this year, there is a ton left to play for.”
McIlroy is bidding for his first PGA Tour victory of the year following a trio of Tour victories back in 2022. His sole title this year is the Honda Dubai Desert Classic back in January.
