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The world No. 1 will thus miss the first tournament with a higher endowment of the PGA Tour. The American circuit has indeed designated, in October, four tournaments with an enhanced prize money. This decision was taken in reaction to the threat posed by the new and very lucrative Saudi circuit LIV. PGA Tour players can skip one super-prized tournament per year. For McIlroy, it is therefore the first of the year, in Hawaii. He has only participated in this tournament once, in 2019, finishing fourth. The 33-year-old Northern Irishman has asserted himself as one of the main opponents of the new LIV circuit.
McIlroy is also expected to skip the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship (January 19-22) and start his season at the Dubai Desert Classic (January 26-29), a tournament he has won twice.
Thanks to Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas and Matt Fitzpatrick, three of the 2022 Grand Slam winners will line up in Hawaii.