The Cadillac Championship has a $20 million prize purse, a famous golf course, and a new place on the PGA Tour schedule, but Rory McIlroy will not be there.

The six-time major winner has confirmed that he will skip the event at Trump National Doral. This is the second Signature Event in a row that he has missed, and many golf fans have quickly noticed the contradiction.

Back in 2023, McIlroy clearly spoke about his position: "The best players should be playing in them," he said.

"Because ultimately, the PGA Tour needs to be built around the best players because that's what will maximise the value of the product."

Now in 2026, McIlroy has not played since winning back-to-back Masters titles. He skipped the RBC Heritage after Augusta, then missed the Zurich Classic, which had been confirmed months earlier. Now, the Cadillac Championship will also take place without him.

The Blue Monster is back. After 10 years away from the PGA Tour schedule, Doral has its event again, but McIlroy will not be playing there.

Other top golfers are missing too, including Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick, Ludvig Åberg, and Robert MacIntyre. But none of them went on record saying the best players owe it to the tour to show up. McIlroy did.

McIlroy is most likely getting ready for the Truist Championship at Quail Hollow on May 7 before the PGA Championship. This strategy prioritizes major preparation over his previous commitment to the Tour's product.

Michael Kim's Response to Rory McIlroy Skipping the Cadillac Championship

PGA Tour competitor Michael Kim was one of the first to weigh in. He took to X with a response that said more about McIlroy's standing in the game than anything else.

"I hope to get to a point where I decide to skip a signature event even when healthy," Kim wrote on X.

Kim's comment underscores the rare scheduling freedom reserved for the game's elite stars.

McIlroy has played well for 16 years and won six majors including two Masters titles back-to-back. At this stage of his career, he has earned the right to choose his schedule and focus on the events that matter most to him.

But he has his own history at this course. In 2015, he threw his 3-iron into the lake during the second round at Doral and also finished tied for third there in 2016. It is a course where he has both good and bad memories.

His absence ensures the Blue Monster will wait another year for his return.

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Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav