Rory McIlroy was one of the standout performers for Team Europe at the 2025 Ryder Cup
Rory McIlroy will be notably absent from the DP World Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland this week. The Northern Irish golfer was a key player for Team Europe in the 2025 Ryder Cup, helping to secure an early lead against Team USA with his impressive three and a half points contribution.
Despite a spirited comeback from the Americans, it was Team Europe who triumphed for the second event in a row with a final score of 15-13. Now, less than a week after their victory, several members of Team Europe are set to compete on the DP World Tour, where a £3.7million purse is up for grabs.
However, McIlroy won’t be among them, and his £260million net worth won’t receive a boost. Last year’s winner, Tyrrell Hatton, who secured the Ryder Cup for Europe with his two-putt, will be returning across the Atlantic to defend his title at the event, which has been a fixture on the European Tour since 2001.
The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship takes place across three iconic Scottish links courses: St Andrews’ Old Course, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns, reports the Mirror US.
Robert MacIntyre, who added a crucial half-point at Bethpage Black to extend Europe’s winning margin, will also be competing on home turf, hoping to become the first Scot to win the title since 2005.
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Tommy Fleetwood, the recipient of the 2025 Nicklaus-Jacklin Award, is also back in 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.
Joining Hatton on the green is another former champion who played a crucial role in the Ryder Cup, Matt Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick clinched the individual title in 2023 and also bagged the team championship that year with his mum, Susan.
However, McIlroy won’t be teeing off alongside his Team Europe colleagues in Scotland, as he typically plays a reduced schedule. According to The Sunday Times Rich List, his estimated net worth currently stands at a whopping £260m, but he won’t be adding to it with the event’s £600,000 top prize.
In late 2024, when quizzed about his schedule, McIlroy admitted: “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.”
Earlier this month, he added: “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.”
