Rory McIlroy has turned down the chance to play in two lucrative tournaments which would have boosted his earnings for the year even further. The Northern Irishman was notably absent from the DP World Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship earlier this month in Scotland.
That was despite it being the first chance to showcase the same stunning form he enjoyed just days earlier at the 2025 Ryder Cup, where McIlroy helped Team Europe secure a 15-13 triumph on American soil. In doing so, he gave up the chance to win a portion of the whopping £4.3million prize fund. And, after returning to action for the DP World India Championship last week, where he finished T26, the career grand slam winner has decided to skip two more high-paying events.
One of those is this week’s Genesis Championship, the final event of the ‘Back 9’ on the DP World Tour calendar, which carries a hefty prize fund of £3m. The winner of the event in Cheonan, Korea, will rake in £510,000, while the runner up receives £330,000.
But that’s not all McIlroy is missing out on this week. Also taking place is the Bank of Utah Championship at the Black Desert Resort, where a total pool of £4.5m is up for grabs. The winner will take home 18% of that total, which adds up to around £809,000.
The 36-year-old’s comments last year go some way towards explaining his decision to snub the two tournaments, having already enjoyed a hugely successful 2025 with victories at the Masters, The Players Championship, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am and the Amgen Irish Open.
He said in late 2024 when questioned about his tournament calendar: “It’s been a long season and I’m going to just have to think about trying to build in a few extra breaks here and there next year and going forward. I’m usually sort of like a 22 (events a year) sort of person.
“But again, that was when I was sort of in my 20s and didn’t have the responsibilities that I do now. I’m going to try to cut it back to like 18 or 20 a year going forward, I think.”
It’s fair to say that, at this stage of his career, McIlroy needs the rest more than he needs the money, boasting an estimated net worth of £346m according to The Sunday Times Rich List. However, the five-time major winner has announced he will be playing in the first event of 2026, the second edition of the Dubai Invitational, having come agonisingly close to becoming the inaugural champion in 2024.
On his decision to start his year at the event, McIlroy said: “I’m excited to be starting my year in Dubai. The UAE is a place where I’ve enjoyed a lot of great weeks, and I’m sure this will be no different. Dubai Creek Resort was a fantastic host venue two years ago, and Abdulla and his team put on an incredible event.”