"Rory McIlroy was part of this" – Golf insider makes feelings clear on 5x major champ receiving backlash over Signature Events snub

Golf analyst Smylie Kaufman recently opened up about the backlash Rory McIlroy has received after the Northern Irish golfer opted not to play at the 2025 Memorial Tournament, a signature PGA Tour event. He previously missed the season-opening The Sentry and the RBC Heritage.

In a recent episode of The Smylie Show, the podcast host opened up about McIlroy missing the signature event during a conversation with Charlie Hulme. He candidly reflected on how McIlroy was initially the advocate of committing to play in signature events, but has now missed these events himself.

Speaking of Rory McIlroy, Kaufman said (at 38:00):

"Rory is understood because, um, when you go back to that, um, meeting in Delaware with all the top players—Tiger flying in—when, uh, I think Ricky was on the flight coming up to meet with the guys about, "All right, guys, let's all commit to be playing together at signature events. It's eight times of a year, and there's going to be a penalty if you don't play in those events. And what we can do, you know..."

"This is all these guys at this meeting are saying to the PGA Tour executives, like, "Y'all can go and charge these sponsors more because we will guarantee them that we will all be there playing. And so Rory was a part of this," he added.

The PGA Tour has eight signature events, starting with the season-opening The Sentry. Rory McIlroy missed the tournament but then played at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where he registered a win in the game.

He then competed at The Genesis Invitational, which is also a signature event, settling in T17 position. His other signature event outings were the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he finished in T15, and the Truist Championship, where he finished in T7 position.

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When will Rory McIlroy next tee off?

After missing the 2025 Memorial Tournament, Rory McIlroy is slated to next tee off at the 2025 RBC Canadian Open. The event is scheduled to take place from June 5 to 8 at the TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in Canada.

Here is Rory McIlroy's schedule for the upcoming events:

RBC Canadian Open

• Date: June 5-8, 2025
• Venue: TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley (North Course), Caledon, Ontario, Canada

U.S. Open

• Date: June 12-15, 2025
• Venue: Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, Pennsylvania, USA

Genesis Scottish Open

• Date: July 10-13, 2025
• Venue: The Renaissance Club, North Berwick, Scotland

The Open Championship

• Date: July 17-20, 2025
• Venue: Royal Portrush Golf Club, Portrush, County Antrim, Northern Ireland

Notably, this season on the PGA Tour, Rory McIlroy has only played in nine tournaments. He won three of them, including the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, The Players Championship, and the Masters. He last played at the PGA Championship and settled in a tie for 47th place.