Rory Mcilroy, the champion of The Masters 2025 will be absent at this year’s Memorial Tournament, ending the series of seven consecutive years at the event founded by legendary Jack Nicklaus. This is the first time since 2017, the Northern Ireland star has not participated in Muirfield Village.
Right from the beginning of the 2025 season, Mcilroy confirmed he wanted to streamline the schedule to focus on the Major tournament. After the historic victory at The Masters, where he completed Career Grand Slam, Mcilroy ignored the two signature events including The Sentry and RBC Heritage. Not attending Memorial Tournament, the prestigious event of the Signature Events system, continues to show that Mcilroy is pursuing the optimal strategy for big tournaments.
Missing three of the seven Signature Events this season does not mean that Mcilroy is indifferent to the PGA Tour system, but is a clear manifestation for a higher goal, continuing to pursue Major titles, the peak measure in the career of all golf legends. And with Rory Mcilroy, the appointment in Oakmont for the US Open is the next destination on his historical journey.
Last year, Mcilroy attended three consecutive events: Canadian Open, Memorial and US Open, the dense chain that he admitted to making himself “touched” both physically and mentally, leading to painful failures at Pinehurst No.2. From that experience, adjusting the pace of competition in the 2025 season is understandable.
While Mcilroy was absent, Memorial 2025 still gathered a strong star. Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 golfer and defending champion PGI Championship will return to defend the title. Along with him are big names like Viktor Hovland (Memorial 2023), Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth, Tony Finau and young talent Ludvig Aberg – who used to T5 in this tournament last year.