Unless he pops up on television playing tennis with his girlfriend or is caught out on the town around his U.S.-based Florida digs, we’re not going to see Rory McIlroy again until the Masters.
The newly crowned No. 1-ranked golfer in the world — although his spot atop the rankings will be in peril while he is not playing — has made what some might consider an odd decision to not play competitive golf in any of the three weeks leading up to the year’s first major championship.
It’s curious only until you consider that he did the same thing last year, where the time away seemed to work pretty well — except for the well-chronicled final-day meltdown.
“I was against it,” said Chubby Chandler, his agent at the time. “I told him I thought he should play a tournament during this time. But it worked out quite well for him, didn’t it? He played a lot of golf during that time, played with his mates and had a good time and got refreshed. Hard to call that a bad decision.”
Full story: Sayonara, Rory McIlroy, until Augusta