When Rory McIlroy announced he wasn’t renewing his PGA Tour card for the 2011 season, it stirred some controversy. But then it wasn’t that big of a deal since he would still play all the important events, like the majors, WGC events, Quail Hollow (where he won last year) and the PGA Tour’s premier event, THE PLAYERS. Well, hold up — we can scratch that last one.
Coincidentally, Lee Westwood, who last week in Abu Dhabi revealed he was skipping THE PLAYERS, prompted McIlroy to give an answer via Twitter. McIlroy replied with the tweet shown in the screenshot above, followed by the dialogue below.
The young Ulsterman suggested in November the possibility of skipping the event. After all, he’s never been a fan of the Pete Dye design, and as he points out above, he doesn’t play well there.
Westwood and McIlroy basically just bitch-slapped the PGA Tour and Commissioner Finchem. Remember the suits changed a policy to ensure Westwood could play at TPC Sawgrass, while not exceeding his allotted limit of ten appearances in the US — a guideline which had been overlooked in the past.
The modified rule was supposed to accommodate Westwood and also applied to McIlroy because naturally the Tour wants all the best players in the world in the field. I mean, what’s a fifth major without the world’s no. one? (Then again, Westy might be dethroned by the time May rolls around.)
Ian Poulter chimed in, tweeting, “@westwoodlee @mcilroyrory what a result you 2 are not playing i might have a slightly better chance to win.”
Yes, hooray for Poulter and the rest of the field, along with the two other guys that will now get an opportunity for a shot at the $9.5 million purse, but a loss to the event and fans.
(Apologies for any typos and missing links. My computer crashed while en route to Orlando, so most of this post was typed on my iPad. Thank goodness I travel with three Internet-enabled devices.)
Recent Tweets
It’s not surprising but disappointing. Hopefully the European Players and PGA TOUR can work together to make both sides happy!
I don’t see what the big deal is. The Players is NOT a major and never will be. If these guys want to skip it then big deal. They do not make or break the event IMHO. The “slap” is very real but again, we know Westy wasn’t going to win and McIlroy is no lock either.
Who cares if they play or not? I’d rather see players who want to be there play. Big heads.
These guys are way too full of themselves. I used to like them both before Twitter came along and now we getter a better idea of what they are all about. Less is more.
As a fellow Irish man, it pains me to say it but I feel Rory McIlroy is getting a little big for his britches. Fair enough, the guy is supremely talented but he’s a little new to the tour to be ‘indirectly’ letting us all know that he does not need to be at the Players. Did he not see Westwood at the weekend in Abu Dhabi to have this conversation? Of course he did, but this is their way of publicly stating that if the PGA Tour is going to impose the minimum number of events clause, then they won’t show for the PGA Tours flagship event.
just a real snub and pretty crappy of both. And as far as the Players not being the 5th major, I’m sure to Westwood it looks an awful lot like one. After all, he choked in the final round last year there.
Close the deal on a big tournament before you get all high and mighty fellas.
These guys need to stop tweetin’ like twits…..
DM
[...] Westwood made his intentions to skip The Players clear last week in Abu Dhabi, and Rory McIlroy followed suit Tuesday on Twitter. In his Q&A with members of the media in advance of the Famers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, [...]
It is one thing to skip the event, but another thing to “bitch slap” it. For guys who have never won majors, they are awfully full of themselves.
If either of them were to win The Players Championship, it would be the biggest win of their careers so far.
The Players also has more OWGR points than ordinary events, so I would have thought Westwood would want to play to protect his #1 ranking … seeing as he says that is more important to him than winning a major.
Westwood is clearly still upset about choking away the title last year and is trying to pretend that he doesn’t care about the event.
I am pretty sure one of the Asian tournaments at the end of the year will end up be the 5th major and not in name only. The PGA tour is growing obsolete. A world tour is already happening.
This is beyond funny.MCilroy, no seriour golf fan will miss you. MCilroy has not yet become relevant in golf since he has not won a Major and has won only 2 tournaments in his 3+ years as a Pro. The media is hyping him, so I guess he believes what the media says about him. Yes ,it is a free country/world so everyone is entitled to speak their mind.However why not wait until you achieve, then you really have a platform to speak.There is a saying “Let someone else elevate you, just in case you fall, you won’t get hurt”
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Stephanie Wei, Alan Hammond. Alan Hammond said: McIlroy to #THEPLAYERS: Thanks But No Thanks http://j.mp/fN1eNO via @stephaniewei (No Rory or Westwood means two spots open up!) [...]
Hopefully Rory isn’t so full of himself that he believes his missing the tournament will diminish it.
As for the PGA Tour becoming obsolete, I think you are going a little overboard. Sure golf has greater global appeal than ever, but three of the game’s four majors are played in the States and the Tour hosts the game’s richest events. Let’s see what happens if/when tournament organizers in Asia and the Middle East stop offering up large appearance fees. I’m guessing the quality of the fields will diminish.
Do you really think so many top players flocked to the Middle East last weekend because that was the place to “start” the 2011 season? They went because they got paid before ever hitting a shot.
Nothing wrong with that, but I don’t think people should read to much into it.
all the anti-Rory comments are insane. the golf tours are set up so players can play where they want. i feel certain in saying that that if the TPC moved to Riviera in LA, Tiger would skip it too. there’s lots of big tournaments around the world now, and it’s kind of unrealistic for fans to expect all the stars to be at all of them. that’s not the golfers’ job.
I think some of you guys just don’t get the British sense of humour – Poults, Westy and Rors aren’t “too big for their britches” … They’re just taking the mick, and generally out of themselves. I love reading their interplay on twitter – just makes me giggle – and I suspect that is their intent.
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