{"id":501825,"date":"2026-02-24T22:22:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T22:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/501825\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T22:22:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T22:22:10","slug":"rory-mcilroy-skips-cognizant-classic-to-iron-out-his-game-ahead-of-arnold-palmer-invitational-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/501825\/","title":{"rendered":"Rory McIlroy skips Cognizant Classic to iron out his game ahead of Arnold Palmer Invitational \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rory McIlroy<\/a> has a week off, at least from tournament play, as he plans to take in a visit to Augusta National and \u201cwork on some things\u201d ahead of returning to tour life at next week\u2019s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, followed by his defence of The Players the following week at Sawgrass.<\/p>\n

The Northern Irishman finished tied-second behind Jacob Bridgeman in the Genesis Invitational<\/a> to complete back-to-back weeks in California, moving to 12th on the updated FedEx Cup standings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like my game\u2019s in really good shape. I\u2019m looking forward to getting on some Bermuda greens over the next couple weeks. But it\u2019s feeling good, it\u2019s feeling much better than it did in Dubai, which is a big step in the right direction. I just have to keep working,\u201d said McIlroy, who has opted to skip this week\u2019s Cognizant Classic, which kickstarts the Florida swing part of the PGA Tour<\/a> schedule.<\/p>\n

Shane Lowry<\/a> followed up on a top-10 in the Pebble Beach pro-am with a tied-24th in the Genesis. He\u2019ll feature in the Cognizant \u2013 the third of what will be a five-week stretch of events \u2013 at Palm Beach Gardens, effectively a hometown tournament for him.<\/p>\n

\"ShaneShane Lowry plays his shot from the second tee during the first round of the Genesis Invitational. Photograph: Mike Mulholland\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Lowry will be joined in the field by S\u00e9amus Power<\/a> as the Waterford man \u2013 who lost his full tour card last season \u2013 bids to make the most of the tournaments his status allows.<\/p>\n

Leona Maguire<\/a>, meanwhile, continues her Asian swing itinerary on the LPGA Tour<\/a>. The Cavan woman is playing in the HSBC World Championship in Singapore after a tied-32nd finish in last week\u2019s Honda LPGA Thailand (won by Jeeno Thitikul) which marked her first outing of the season.<\/p>\n

\u00c1ine Donegan will make her Ladies European Tour debut in this week\u2019s Ford Women\u2019s NSW Open at Woolongong Golf Club in the start of a four-week stretch in Australia, where Anna Foster is also in the field.<\/p>\n

Amateur Championship hits to Portrush<\/p>\n

Royal Portrush<\/a> has been named as the host venue for next year\u2019s Amateur Championship, part of a policy by the R&A to continue bringing their premier amateur events to courses that are on The Open rota.<\/p>\n

The 132nd Amateur Championship will take place from June 14th-19th, 2027, with strokeplay qualifying on the Valley and Dunluce courses before the matchplay phase is played on the Dunluce links, which last year hosted Scottie Scheffler\u2019s march to the claret jug in the 153rd Open.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe sixth tee at Royal Portrush during last year’s Open. Photograph: Glyn Kirk\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

It will be Royal Portrush\u2019s fourth time hosting the Amateur Championship, the last being the 2014 edition when Scotland\u2019s Bradley Neil claimed the title.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s championship will be staged at Royal Liverpool, with championship competitor applications due to open on the R&A website later this week.<\/p>\n

By the Numbers: 5,300,000,000<\/p>\n

LIV Golf<\/a> received another $266.6 million (\u20ac226 million) capital injection from Saudi Arabia\u2019s Public Investment Fund (PIF), bringing the total since the tour\u2019s inception to $5.3 billion (\u20ac4.5 billion).<\/p>\n

Word of Mouth<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hole is really white and it looked pretty big, for whatever reason, on 18. I was just hoping that the ball would roll where it was supposed to roll. Everyone always says the hole looks small when you\u2019ve got pressure, I thought it looked pretty big.\u201d \u2013 Jacob Bridgeman on having to putt through the shadows on the 18th to capture the Genesis Invitational, his first win on the PGA Tour. Bridgeman\u2019s win moved him to the top of the FedEx Cup standings and a career-best 20th (up from 52nd) on the official world rankings.<\/p>\n

On this day: February 24th, 1991<\/p>\n

Steve Richardson\u2019s win in the Girona Open \u2013 the opening event of the European Tour season \u2013 marked him out as a man apart as the only ever winner of the tournament in Catalonia.<\/p>\n

\"TeamTeam Europe’s Mark James and Steve Richardson during the 1991 Ryder Cup in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. Photograph: Stephen Munday\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

The Englishman\u2019s maiden win on the circuit came with rounds of 71-64-67-70 for a total of 16-under-par 272 at Golf Platja de Pal for a two-stroke winning margin over Spain\u2019s Miguel Angel Jimenez, with another Spaniard Jose Rivero in third.<\/p>\n

The breakthrough win propelled Richardson on to what would be his best ever season on the European Tour, when he also won the Portuguese Open and earned a place \u2013 for his first and only time \u2013 on Europe\u2019s Ryder Cup<\/a> team for the match at Kiawah Island. He would finish second on that year\u2019s order of merit behind Seve Ballesteros.<\/p>\n

However, Richardson never got a chance to defend his title as the Girona Open turned out to be a one-off event on the schedule.<\/p>\n

Social Swing<\/p>\n

Most bronze medalists are happier than silver medalists\u2026 life\u2019s all about how you look at things. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s ALL internal, not external. <\/p>\n

Except plugged lies in the bunker. The golf gods are just laughing at you at that point.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Michael S. Kim (@Mike_kim714) February 22, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Most bronze medalists are happier than silver medalists\u2026. Life\u2019s all about how you look at things. It\u2019s ALL internal, not external. Except plugged lies in the bunker. The golf gods are just laughing at you at that point \u2013 Michael Kim, something of a philosopher it would seem.<\/p>\n

3 years sober 2day\ud83d\udd25
Never give up. Life may knock u down but GOD will help u get back up but u need 2 put in the work. Thank u all 4 the support from my family\/friends & supporters\ud83d\ude4f love u guys@malbongolf<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/VIcGFjJmjJ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Anthony Kim (@AnthonyKim_Golf) February 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

3 years sober 2day, Never give up. Life may knock you down but GOD will help u get back up but u need 2 put in the work. Thank u all 4 the support from my family\/friends & supporters love u guys \u2013 Anthony Kim on the journey he has travelled in fighting his addiction.<\/p>\n

JEENO! With a CLUTCH putt on the 71st hole, Jeeno Thitikull claimed her 8th LPGA title, and first in her home country of Thailand. This was the first win Jeeno has been able to capture in front of heer mother, who still lives in Thailand #1PutteronTour #NothingBeatsThis \u2013 Odyssey Golf bigging up Thitikull\u2019s win in the Honda LPGA Thailand tournament.<\/p>\n

Know the Rules<\/p>\n

Q: A player using a wheeled mobility device takes relief in a bunker for an unplayable ball by dropping the ball back on the line outside the bunker. How many penalty strokes is this relief option?<\/p>\n

A: The relief is for one penalty stroke. This is covered by Rule 25.4n and Rule 19.3b: When a player with a wheeled mobility device takes relief for an unplayable ball in a bunker, Rule 19.3b is modified so that the player may take back-on-the-line relief outside that bunker for one penalty stroke.<\/p>\n

In the Bag: Jacob Bridgeman<\/p>\n

Genesis Invitational \u2013 PGA Tour<\/p>\n

Driver: TaylorMade Qi35 (10.5 degrees)<\/p>\n

Fairway woods: TaylorMade Qi4D HL (16.5 degrees), TaylorMade Stealth (21 degrees)<\/p>\n

Irons: TaylorMade Tour Preferred UDI (4), TaylorMade P770 (5), TaylorMade P7CB (6-PW)<\/p>\n

Wedges: TaylorMade MG5 (50, 54 and 60 degrees)<\/p>\n

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour<\/p>\n

Ball: TaylorMade TP5<\/p>\n