It was a rollercoaster ride for the Northern Irishman on Sunday. One second, you’re on top of the scoreboard, and the next, you’re trailing behind. In the end, an emotional Rory McIlroy could only drive off in his car when he was beaten by Bryson DeChambeau by one stroke. And now, in desperate need of a mental health break, the 35-year-old made a surprising decision, all the while pulling out of the next PGA Tour event, the Travelers Championship.

The PGA Tour shared an announcement on its X handle (formerly Twitter), mentioning the same while divulging McIlroy’s reasons behind the WD. The 4-time major champ started off by disclosing how tough of a day the final round at Pinehurst was for him; “Yesterday was a tough day, probably the toughest I’ve had in my nearly 17 years as a professional golfer.”

The golfer also congratulated the LIV Golf Pro on his major win while dubbing him “exactly what professional golf needs right now.” McIlroy then went ahead to reveal how he plans to review his performance over the week and reproach himself for his gameplay while gearing up for his return at the Genesis Scottish Open, where he won in 2023: “I’ll rue a few things over the course of the tournament, mostly the 2 missed putts on 16 and 18 on the final day. But, as I always try to do, I’ll look at the positives of the week that far outweigh the negatives. … 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.”

The pro was leading the scoreboard at a point in time during the back nine of the final round. However, he carded three bogeys in his last four holes while missing the putt from inside four feet at the par-4 16 and par-4 18. DeChambeau, meanwhile, grabbed his opportunity and par-putted his final hole on the 18th to clinch his second major title.

This caused the Northern Irishman to lose out on yet another major while finishing inside the top 5 for the 11th time since his 2014 PGA Championship win. This led to him deciding to take a break from golf, which, consequently, went ahead and split up the community into two; those supporting McIlroy and those against his decision.

Rory McIlroy’s decision divides golf fans

DeChambeau was able to rake in the winner’s cut of a whopping $4.3 million from the total prize purse of $21.5 million. Rory McIlroy, on the other hand, managed to receive $2,322,000 for his runner-up finish, which came as a result of his scores of 5-under 275. A fan came forward to allude to the same while mocking his ‘tough day’ reasoning; “Tough day? Bro give me some tough work days where I make $2.3mil PLEASE and I promise I’ll show up again next weekend.” Another user just came forward to call him a “S**sy boy.”

“The best players should be playing in [the ‘elevated events’] because ultimately the PGA Tour needs to be built around the best players,” stated the 4-time major champ back at the 2023 Genesis Invitational. He had also played a huge role in rolling out the new rules in the men’s circuit, back in 2023, when Jay Monahan divulged how the top players in the Tour can only opt out of one of the 17 elevated contests. McIlroy, however, pulled out of two designated events at the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions as well as the RBC Heritage. An enthusiast recollected the same while responding, “He was one of the driving forces behind creating the elevated events and publicly said that all the best players needed to play more events together. Two years later, and he’s skipping those events, and not for the first time. Anyone else would be called out for this. It’s a joke.”

There were also fans who couldn’t help but sympathize with the 35-year-old. Some commended the athlete for his decision, while others urged him to rest; “Get some rest, Rory!” and “Good decision.” Call it misfortune or so, but this marks Rory McIlroy’s fourth runner-up finish after his last major victory. A golfing enthusiast, as a result, commented, “Man, I don’t think I’ve ever felt as bad for an athlete as I did watching Rory yesterday. Hoping he can bounce back it’s gonna be hard for him psychologically.”

The fans can only wait and watch as he gears up for his return and the subsequent title defense at the Genesis Scottish Open. What do you think about McIlroy’s withdrawal? Do you feel his decision is warranted?