Rory McIlroy To Play Phoenix Open For First Time Ever

RThe four-time Major winner will tee it up at TPC Scottsdale for the first time in his career

Rory McIlroy To Play Phoenix Open
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The four-time Major winner will tee it up at TPC Scottsdale for the first time in his career

Rory McIlroy To Play Phoenix Open For First Time Ever

Rory McIlroy has added the Waste Management Phoenix Open to his schedule for the first time in his career.

He will tee it up at TPC Scottsdale next week after his first start on the PGA Tour in 2021 at Torrey Pines this week.

The Waste Management Phoenix Open is famous for being the best-attended event in golf, although McIlroy will not get the usual experience this time.

Due to Covid-19, the tournament will only be allowing a limited number of fans on-site.

The 16th hole stadium will still be there but fans will only be on the top deck.

The four-time Major winner is currently at the start of a very busy run of tournaments building up to The Masters.

After last week's Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, his schedule is currently as follows:

28th-31st Jan: Farmers Insurance Open 

4th-7th Feb: Waste Management Phoenix Open

Week off

18th-21st Feb: Genesis Invitational

25th-28th Feb: World Golf Championships at The Concession

4th-7th March: Arnold Palmer Invitational

11th-14th March: The Players Championship

Week off

24th-28th March: WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play

Week off

8th-11th April: The Masters

McIlroy will hope to win his first title since November 2019 in that stretch after coming off of only his second win-less year since 2009.

Related: Rory McIlroy What's in the bag?

He finished 3rd in Abu Dhabi after losing the 54-hole lead to Tyrrell Hatton in the final round.

"I thought for the most part of the week, my short game and my putting was good. I scrambled well. Had some pretty good approach shots, especially last night coming down the last few holes. I thought there was parts of rounds where I got the driver going, even the last few holes this evening there I got the driver going a little bit," he said after the final round in Abu Dhabi.

"But still, sometimes I'll have a few holes where it's like that and there's a few holes where it sort of gets away from me. So a little more consistency and being able to replicate the good ones hole after hole and then day after day until you sort of put four rounds together."

He is currently 7th in the world.

Elliott Heath
News Editor

Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He manages the Golf Monthly news team as well as our large Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. He covered the 2022 Masters from Augusta National as well as five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews. His first Open was in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, when he walked inside the ropes with Jordan Spieth during the Texan's memorable Claret Jug triumph. He has played 35 of our Top 100 golf courses, with his favourites being both Sunningdales, Woodhall Spa, Western Gailes, Old Head and Turnberry. He has been obsessed with the sport since the age of 8 and currently plays off of a six handicap. His golfing highlights are making albatross on the 9th hole on the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, shooting an under-par round, playing in the Aramco Team Series on the Ladies European Tour and making his one and only hole-in-one at the age of 15 - a long time ago now!


Elliott is currently playing:


Driver: Titleist TSR4

3 wood: Titleist TSi2

Hybrids: Titleist 816 H1

Irons: Mizuno MP5 5-PW

Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore 50, 54, 58

Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5

Ball: Srixon Z Star XV