Is Rory McIlroy Playing the 2024 John Deere Classic After Continued Absence From the PGA Tour?

A heartbreak takes time to heal. Rory McIlroy has been trying to heal his broken heart by skipping tournaments and staying away from the greens. He has not played any tournament since his 2024 US Open loss, withdrawing from the Traveler’s Championship and not taking part in the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Well, the next PGA Tour event – the John Deere Classic – is around the corner and will begin on July 4 at TPC Deere Run, Silvis, Illinois. A question that now plagues many McIlroy fans: Will the Northern Irishman be a part of the tournament?

In a tweet that was shared by the PGA Tour on its official X handle (formerly known as Twitter), via McIlroys’s tweet, it was confirmed that the world number two will be back on the Greens in the Scottish Open and so, will miss all tournaments between it and the US Open.

In his post, McIlroy clearly states that he needs a break from the sport, stating “The one word that I would describe my career as is resilient. I’ve shown my resilience over and over again in the last 17 years and I will again. I’m going to take a few weeks away from the game to process everything and build myself back up for my defense of the Genesis Scottish Open and The Open at Royal Troon. See you in Scotland”

This is, perhaps, a pure consolidation of the fact that the Northern Irishman will also miss the 2024 John Deere Classic. This is no surprise to the golf world as the John Deere Classic is one of those tournaments the Northern Irishman has never taken part in. But, even if there was any chance of him deciding to compete in the tournament and appearing in the field list out of the blue, is also shattered as the released list of the participants does not contain McIlroy’s name. The US Open loss must have affected the four-time major quite significantly.

Rory McIlroy’s US Open loss was more than just a defeat

Many might think that winning and losing is a part of the game and that’s why McIlroy shouldn’t be so upset for his US Open loss to Bryson DeChambeau. But, it is not just about him losing in the major but also about losing in a close competition. In the third-last and final holes of the US Open’s last round, McIlroy carded bogeys which were the results of the missed short putts that ultimately became the reason for his loss. This disappointment even led him to leave the course immediately after the major ended. Later, he even accepted on his social media (X) that it was the toughest day ever in his 17-year career.

Talking about McIloy’s ‘elusive major victories’, the last time he won a major was a decade ago and since then he has been craving for his next major title. With the recent US Open defeat, the misery of Rory McIlroy of not being able to capitalize on a single major title since 2014 goes on. Additionally, the Northern Irishman has finished inside the top 10 of a major event a whopping 21 times since his fourth major win.

What do you think about the decision made by Rory McIlroy to not play in any tournament until the Scottish Open? Was it a bit extreme? or was it justified?