Rory McIlroy is to miss the Sentry Tournament of Champions despite it being one of the PGA Tour's new elevated purse events.
The 13 new 'elevated' events were brought in to combat the threat of LIV Golf and require the tour's top players to all play - although an unknown rule revealed by Golfweek is that players are allowed to skip one of them. McIlroy is choosing to skip Hawaii, with his 2023 set to get underway on the DP World Tour at the end of January in the Dubai Desert Classic.
Another event McIlroy is missing in January is the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which he started his 2022 with, finishing T12th.
The Sentry Tournament of Champions' purse of $15m is the lowest prize pool of the elevated events, with all the other tournaments carrying $20m purses aside from the Players Championship, which will offer $25m.
The Tournament of Champions invites all of 2022's PGA Tour winners as well as all 30 players to make the Tour Championship. The field will be headlined by the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa and Matt Fitzpatrick among others.
Will Zalatoris is also set to make his return from injury after being sidelined with a back problem since August. The 39-man field features 17 of the world's top 20.
With the Tournament of Champions being elevated, its huge $15m purse has risen from $8.2m in 2022. The winner will take home $2.7m, up from $1.476m last year.
The PGA Tour's elevated events include the Phoenix Open, RBC Heritage, Wells Fargo Championship and Travelers Championship, with these four potentially set to change next year. The other nine events will remain elevated next year, which are the Players Championship, the three FedExCup Playoff tournaments, the three invitationals (Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational, Memorial Tournament), the WGC-Match Play and the year-opening Tournament of Champions.
The 2022-23 PGA TOUR Season resumes at next week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions.39 players, including 17 of the top 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking, are set to compete: pic.twitter.com/vxq9YAjN0PDecember 30, 2022
-
Genesis Invitational Prize Money Payout 2025Tiger Woods is one of a star-studded field competing for one of the largest prize money payouts of the PGA Tour season
-
Huge TV Numbers Generated By Rory McIlroy's Pebble Beach Win Buck Recent PGA Tour TrendRory McIlroy's victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was reportedly the most-watched non-Major and non-Players broadcast for over a year
-
'It Seemed Like It Was Pointed At Me' - Rory McIlroy Responds To Charley Hoffman's PGA Tour LetterThe four-time Major champion gave his view on the letter sent to PGA Tour membership from Charley Hoffman, which he felt was aimed his way
-
'I Think Really Good Venues Are A Big Part Of The Storyline' - Rory McIlroy Singles Out One Aspect For New Look PGA TourSitting in contention at Pebble Beach, McIlroy had nothing but praise for the course, claiming venues like it are far more interesting than 'a run of the mill TPC'
-
Social Media Reacts To Rory McIlroy's Incredible 353-Yard Drive At Pebble BeachThe four-time Major winner took an inventive option when tackling the par-5 14th at Pebble Beach
-
Scottie Scheffler Makes Rocky Par At AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-AmThe World No.1 found the rocks at Pebble Beach's iconic 18th hole, but that didn't stop Scheffler from making a wild par to finish his second round
-
Rory McIlroy Makes Golf Ball Switch Days Before Pebble Beach AceThe Northern Irishman revealed he had stumbled across the change while practicing in the build-up to the Pebble Beach Pro-Am
-
Watch: Rory McIlroy Makes Slam Dunk Hole-In-One At Pebble Beach Pro-AmThe four-time Major winner produced a moment of magic in the opening round of his first PGA Tour event of the year
