Heading into last week, many felt that this was the year that Rory McIlroy could finally end his hoodoo at The Masters.
The Holywood native was playing some of his best golf in years and was among the most in-form players in the world as he made his way to Augusta. As well as that, it would have been fitting for the biggest draw in the PGA Tour to win the first tournament since the arrival of LIV Golf and the controversy that followed.
Of course, things would work out very differently.
McIlroy would perform horrifically at the historic venue, missing the cut on the back of two very poor rounds. He would skip all media duties after his second round and was straight on a plane back to Florida.
While he was expected to face the press ahead of this week's RBC Heritage in South Carolina, he would soon pull out of that tournament.
It looks as though he will now miss out on quite a bit of cash as a result.
Rory McIlroy loses huge sum of money after skipping PGA tour event
The PGA Tour has made some sweeping changes over the last year or so, one of which was to introduce 'designated events'.
Essentially, this seen them mark 12 tournaments each year that the top players were all but required to partake in. Should they do so, they will receive a portion of a $100million pot as part of the 'Player Impact Program'.
The amount each player receives is based on numerous factors, including those not necessarily related to tournament performance. For example, Tiger Woods was granted $15million and Rory McIlroy was designated $12million as a result of the 2022 season.
However, that money will only be paid out in full later this year if players meet certain criteria.
Golfers are allowed to miss one of the 12 events without facing any penalties. However, with the 33-year old having already skipped the first designated event earlier this year prior to pulling out of the RBC Heritage, he is now likely to take a major financial hit.
According to Sports Illustrated, Rory McIlroy is set to lose 25% of his portion of the Player Impact Program payout as a result of missing this week's tournament, amounting to $3million.
Even for someone of his wealth, he could not have taken the decision to miss the event lightly with those penalties in mind. He could face even further reductions should fail to appear at more championships as the season goes on.
Forfeiting that amount of money highlights just how much Rory McIlroy needed to be away from the spotlight after another poor performance at The Masters. Hopefully he can quickly bounce back from that disappointment, with further opportunities to win his first major since 2014 just around the corner.
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