Golf news: Rory McIlroy’s absence felt as British star speaks out after criticism of behaviour

Golf news as Rory McIlroy skips another event and Robert MacIntyre addresses his telling off at the Masters

The golf world has kept spinning since Rory McIlroy’s dramatic defence of his Masters title. Having waited so long to complete golf’s Grand Slam, the Northern Irish star is now in possession of two Green Jackets and six major titles overall.

The next big event on his radar is the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club, near Philadelphia, starting on May 14. Another contender at the second major of the year will be Matt Fitzpatrick, who continued his fabulous season by defeating Scottie Scheffler in a play-off to win the RBC Heritage last weekend.

Fitzpatrick will be back in action this week when he teams up with his brother at the Zurich Classic. Here’s a round-up of the latest golf news…

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McIlroy skips another event

McIlroy has continued to post-Masters break by skipping the Zurich Classic, which begins on Thursday. McIlroy, who also missed the RBC Heritage, won the team event with pal Shane Lowry in 2024 and took part again last year shortly after winning the Green Jacket for the first time.

However, he will miss this year’s tournament in New Orleans, with Lowry teaming up with PGA Tour returnee Brooks Koepka instead. Defending champions Ben Griffin and Adam Novak and the Fitzpatrick brothers will also be part of a field which will feature some lesser-known younger players.

Novak has defended the quality of the field, saying: “You may not know some of the names in this tournament yet, but you will. There’s some kids playing in this tournament that you better get to learn their names sooner rather than later.”

Griffin added: “Just because there might not be every single guy that’s in the top 20 in the world here doesn’t mean that it’s going to be a gimme week for a top pair like me and Andrew. It’s still very strong.”

No regrets for MacIntyre

Robert MacIntyre has outlined his targets for the year after his Masters meltdown. The left-hander was caught by television cameras directing a middle-finger gesture towards the 15th green after hitting his approach into a pond guarding on his way to making a quadruple-bogey nine.

The Ryder Cup winner was reprimanded by Augusta National officials following the conclusion of his first-round 80. MacIntyre shot a 71 on Friday but, at seven over, missed the cut and did not speak to media after his round.

The Scot, who recently became a father, has now opened up on his goals for the year but has no plans to curb his fiery temperament. MacIntyre is determined to improve his iron play and, away from success at the majors, wants to win the Scottish Open and reach the PGA Tour Finals.

However, the 29-year-old has no major regrets about his Augusta outburst, insisting it is just part of who he is. MacIntyre told the BBC: “I know that every single week I pick it up, I’m probably going to get caught on a mic saying the odd bad word. It’s part of who I am.

“I try, I probably should limit it or I should try and maybe wait a couple of seconds longer before I do have my outburst. But for me to try to compete at the top level, I need to get my frustration out or else it’s going to affect my performance.

“I know that what I do sometimes is wrong, but I do try and limit it and keep it in as much as I can. But I know myself that the more this boils up and boils up, I’m going to have a bigger outburst. It’s about trying to manage it as best I can.”

PGA Tour event to be dropped

The PGA Tour is planning to ditch its Hawaii events for the first time in 63 years. This year’s season opener, The Sentry in Maui, was cancelled because of drought conditions.

An alternative venue could not be found, meaning the season started with the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu. The Sentry and the Sony Open are usually paired but the PGA Tour is considering moving the latter to the seniors’ Champions Tour alongside the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai.

Meanwhile, Sentry Insurance could take over sponsorship of the event at Torrey Pines, near San Diego, which is set to be become the season opener.