PGA Tour Isn't Messing Around, Will Reportedly Hold $3 Million Bonus From Rory McIlroy For Skipping RBC Heritage

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Rory McIlroy's decision to skip this week's RBC Heritage - a designated event on the PGA Tour schedule - is reportedly going to cost him a substantial amount of the bonus he'll likely be owed at the end of the season.

PGA Tour players who qualify for the designated events on this year's schedule are allowed to miss one of them. McIlroy, who was the loudest Tour player in favor of the designated, elevated purse events already declined to play in the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January.

The PGA Tour announced its Player Impact Program (PIP) standings – a bonus given to players who have the most engagement – in November and McIlroy was No. 2 behind Tiger Woods.

A report in late December stated that 75% of the PIP would be paid after the Sentry Tournament of Champions. The other 25% would be paid out after the final designated event on the schedule.

McIlroy, who will likely finish second in the PIP standings, is now ineligible to receive that 25% of the bonus. The second-place finisher is due $12 million, therefore McIlroy skipping the RBC Heritage will cost him $3 million.

Rory McIlroy WD From RBC Heritage Could End Up Costing Him $3 Million

The PGA Tour is reportedly set to hold out $3 million in bonus cash from Rory McIlroy. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

PGA Tour Sending A Message To Rory McIlroy, Other Top Players

While it's hard to imagine the PGA Tour would discipline and hold out money from its unofficial spokesperson, and its leader in the battle with LIV Golf, according to multiple reports that's exactly what the Tour is set to do.

The Golf Channel reported on air on Wednesday that McIlroy would indeed be losing a portion of his PIP bonus. Sports Illustrated later confirmed that "portion" would be the 25% ($3 million) as previously mentioned.

While $3 million in bonus money is a drop in the bucket for McIlroy, this reported action from the Tour is more about principle than cash.

If the Tour does in fact keep the bonus money from McIlroy it's very clearly sending a message to the rest of the top players on the circuit that it's serious about only skipping one designated event moving forward.

At the end of the day, this is good for golf fans as it will mean the biggest names on Tour will be teeing it up against one another as often as possible, if not, they'll risk missing out on millions in bonus money.

Follow Mark Harris on Twitter @ItIsMarkHarris

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.