The field published on the official PGA Tour website for the Ohio tournament hosted by golf great Jack Nicklaus does not feature Northern Ireland’s McIlroy. McIlroy followed up his milestone major triumph at Augusta with a tied-47th finish at the USPGA Championship, during which he failed to speak to the media after each of his three rounds. Now McIlroy’s build-up to a Northern Ireland summer homecoming at Royal Portrush for the final major – The Open from July 17-20 – looks to include the RBC Canadian Open (June 5-8), the high-profile third major US Open (June 12-15) and Genesis Scottish Open (July 10-13). The decision would mark a third PGA Tour signature event absence by McIlroy this year, having also opted to skip The Sentry and RBC Heritage dates. It would mark a first absence from the Memorial Tournament since 2017 for the current world number two. McIlroy, now a five-time major winner and sixth member of the grand slam club thanks to that Masters triumph, has previously discussed reducing his schedule. One recently-confirmed appearance will be October’s first-ever appearance in India by the 36-year-old. He is also scheduled to take on the Australian Open in December for the first time in over a decade. DP World Tour and Ryder Cup Europe CEO Guy Kinnings recently discussed McIlroy’s global appeal on the Business of Sport podcast, as reported by the Daily Record. “He provided us at the Masters with one of the magic moments in sport,” said Kinnings. “The moment when he finished it off...it was an unbelievable moment for golf, but for European golf, global golf it was amazing. And it was done kind of the Rory way. Heart in mouth, but he got it done and I do think that presents the sport with a huge opportunity. I really do. “What you have in Rory, and that’s why we’re so fortunate, is you have someone who plays in a way that totally appeals to people. People can engage with it because it’s human. And you can see that. And that moment when he fell to his knees, I mean, I’ve done this for 35 years, I had tears in my eyes. It was unbelievable. “So what he does is he appeals on a human level. He’s also very articulate. Extremely confident businessman. He is involved in the sport on lots of different levels. He speaks infinitely better than I ever could about the sport, so he’s a great spokesman. He’s young enough now to take the game around the world. “He’s always travelled. Tiger travelled. So when he plays in a tournament, he’ll transform it. If he goes to a market that we’re looking to expand in for the sport of golf, having a superstar like that going there attracts interest. Commercial, government interest, broadcast, content. All the ways that we can grow the sport because golf has to shake off some preconceptions and I think it’s doing that right now. “At the moment, all the figures are showing people are coming to the game. We kind of came out of a tough time with COVID and people have found they were drawn to golf because it’s the most naturally socially distant sport there is. “The sport came out stronger and we refined what we did. And we made a good product, but now he’s able to take it, I think, to an all-new level because you had only the sixth guy ever to have the Grand Slam, which is an extraordinary achievement to win all of the four majors. The first European to do that. I think it gives him a platform to take the game, and when he goes, he will also understand his responsibility and speak in a way that will help elevate the sport in that region. We’re very lucky. “I mean, Rory is an unbelievable supporter of our tour. We have rules, you have to play a minimum number. He plays way more than that and, when he comes to a tournament, he adds extraordinary focus and glamour.”