Rory McIlroy turns down millions of pounds just days after Ryder Cup glory

Rory McIlroy will be notably absent from the DP World Tour's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland this week. McIlroy enjoyed a standout performance at the 2025 Ryder Cup, where he helped Team Europe secure an early lead over Team USA with his contribution of three and a half points. Despite a spirited comeback attempt by the Americans, Team Europe clinched their second consecutive Ryder Cup triumph with a final score of 15-13.

Just days after this, several members of Team Europe are set to compete on the DP World Tour for a £4.3million ($5m) prize, but McIlroy won't be among them. The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, a fixture on the European Tour since 2001, was won last year by Tyrrell Hatton. Fresh off his two-putt victory at the Ryder Cup, Hatton is set to cross the Atlantic once again to defend his title.

The championship takes place across three iconic Scottish links courses: St Andrews' Old Course, Carnoustie, and Kingsbarns.

Bobby MacIntyre, who added a half-point to Europe's winning margin at Bethpage Black, will also be competing on home turf, hoping to become the first Scot to win the title since 2005.

Tommy Fleetwood, recipient of the 2025 Nicklaus-Jacklin Award, is also returning to action. He holds the course record at Carnoustie, having shot a 63 there in 2017, and has twice been a runner-up in this event.

Alongside Hatton, another former champion who delivered a crucial performance at the Ryder Cup once more, Matt Fitzpatrick, will also compete.

Fitzpatrick secured the individual crown in 2023 and captured the team title that year alongside his mother, Susan. McIlroy will not be joining this select group of Team Europe colleagues in Scotland, though, as he has consistently maintained a lighter tournament schedule.

His estimated wealth currently sits at £346m according to The Sunday Times Rich List but he won't be adding to it in Scotland.

In late 2024, when questioned about his tournament calendar, McIlroy revealed: "It's been a long season and I'm going to just have to think about trying to build in a few extra breaks here and there next year and going forward.

"I'm usually sort of like a 22 (events a year) sort of person. But again, that was when I was sort of in my 20s and didn't have the responsibilities that I do now. I'm going to try to cut it back to like 18 or 20 a year going forward, I think."

He continued earlier this month: "At this point I want to play golf when I want to play golf. I want to play in the locations that I love to go to, and I want to play the majors and the Ryder Cup. That's it.

"I'm not going to be going by minimums or anything else. I'll obviously do my bit to make sure I keep my membership and all that on certain tours, but I'm going to play where I want to play.

"I want to go and play in different places in the world and experience things that I haven't experienced before. Going to India to play for the first time, that excites me. I don't want to name a tournament, but you're going back to the same place, the same thing 15, 20 years in a row, it can get a little bit monotonous and a little bit tedious."