Rory McIlroy returns to action this week at the 2023 Wells Fargo Championship after a head-scratching absence amid the meat of the PGA Tour playing schedule. Withdrawing without cause from the 2023 RBC Heritage — and forfeiting $3 million of his Player Impact Program winnings as a result of missing his second designated event — McIlroy explained Tuesday the reasoning behind his inability to play in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, following a disappointing missed cut at the 2023 Masters.
“I needed a break for me,” McIlroy told Golf Channel. “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. But it’s nice to come back and feel refreshed. I think we’re on a pretty busy run here from now until after the playoffs, so I am excited to get going.”
McIlroy has been away from the PGA Tour for nearly a month with his last taste of competition coming in the first major championship of the season. In his ninth attempt at capturing the career grand slam, the world No. 3 fired rounds of 72-77 to post a 5-over 149, the second instance in the last three years McIlroy was an early exit from the Masters.
This follows a season that was filled with major championship disappointment albeit from the complete opposite end of the spectrum. In 2022, the four-time major champion earned top-10 finishes in each of the four signature events making legitimate claims for major No. 5 at both the PGA Championship and The Open at St. Andrews. Still, he ultimately fell short.
“[It was] a combination of a few things,” said McIlroy. “And I think, just after the disappointment of Augusta and how I played there, it was just more for my emotional and mental well being I just needed to be at home for those few weeks. But as I said, I am looking forward to getting back at it this week.”
McIlroy could not have chose a friendlier spot on the calendar for his return. Claiming his first career victory on the PGA Tour at Quail Hollow in 2010, a then-young, chubby Rory blitzed the field on Sunday with a sizzling 62 to defeat Phil Mickelson by four strokes. He has since gone onto win the Wells Fargo Championship twice more, including 2021 — the last time the event was held in Charlotte.
The Wells Fargo Championship is likely to be McIlroy’s last competitive outing before the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in two weeks.