“It doesn't matter who you are”: Justin Thomas reacts to Rory McIlroy’s WD this week

World No. 3 Rory McIlroy withdrew from the 2023 RBC Heritage after his devastating performance at the 2023 Masters.

However, his recent withdrawal from the PGA event may result in him losing a whopping $3 million from his Player Impact Program payout.

Fellow tour golfer Justin Thomas shared his views on McIlroy losing a hefty amount of $3 million. He said:

"It doesn't matter who you are, that's a ton of money. All of us knew going into the year what the situation was and what we had to do to get extra X or Y and for him Y is a lot in this situation, finishing second (In the PIP rankings)."

"So, it wasn't a surprise to him or any of us it just was kind of where he ended up in the rankings and not playing this week is I guess a consequence."

Rory McIlroy missed out on the second designated event on the PGA Tour this season. The first came in the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January. After his cryptic decision, he may be on the verge of losing a fourth of his $12 million PIP payout.

Rory McIlroy at The 2023 Masters - Round Two

McIlroy, alongside Tiger Woods, is one of the leading PGA Tour players to stay offensive against the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League. Even PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan is a true follower of their words and has some sort of bias towards them.

If Monahan wants, he can keep the fine or penalty on a player totally discrete and that might help Rory McIlroy save a massive amount from his PIP payout.

The PGA Tour has a policy of not disclosing fines or penalties, although it is difficult to believe that the Tour has ever imposed a charge or penalty that was more than six figures.

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PGA Tour players demand full disclosure of Rory McIlroy's fate

Xander Schauffele, after completing his round of play at the 2023 RBC Heritage, emphasized that Jay Monahan should share the details about what is happening with Rory McIlroy with the PGAT memberships:

"I imagined he'd communicate to the membership. It's a lot of money. It's a big deal. A lot of people want to know what's going on"

"Rules are the rules. So, I mean, for the most part, a lot of what he wanted is what's happening. And the irony is that he's not here," Schauffele added.

Even Rickie Fowler wished to know what decisions Monahan made for McIlroy and felt it was important to disclose:

"I think that's a big thing that's been talked about for the last year, is having more transparency and just good communication between players the tour. I think that includes you (the media) as well. And ultimately, the more transparency and the more everyone's on the same page, the better."

Full Swing star Joel Dahmen felt that Rory McIlroy knew what was coming at him after his second withdrawal from the tour's designated event. He even said that McIlroy was one amongst them to help make the rules and he does not care much about the whopping $3 million. He said:

"I feel like Rory was leading the charge on the changes that have been made and he helped make the rules. He knew what the rules were. So, he knew what was coming. He also has so much money, he doesn't care about $3 million."

However, the fellow player does not sympathize with the World No. 3 and feels that if necessary, it should be done.