Rory McIlroy To Miss BMW PGA Championship Pro-Am

The five-time Major winner is in the field for the DP World Tour’s flagship event, but he won’t be taking part in the Celebrity Pro-Am that precedes it

Rory McIlroy at the Irish Open
Rory McIlroy will miss the BMW PGA Championship pro-am
(Image credit: Getty Images)
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The BMW PGA Championship Celebrity Pro-Am is always one of the most eagerly anticipated occasions of the week at Wentworth, and this year promises to be no different.

High-profile celebrities, including tennis legend Sir Andy Murray and former Real Madrid soccer star Gareth Bale, will tee it up at the event, which takes place on Wednesday, where they will be joined by many of the biggest names in the BMW PGA Championship field.

Among them will be Billy Horschel, who will begin the defence of his BMW PGA Championship title the following day, and LIV Golfers Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka.

However, one huge name taking part in the DP World Tour’s flagship event who will be absent from the Celebrity Pro-Am this year is Rory McIlroy.

The Northern Irishman competed in the 2024 edition alongside Bale and former England cricket all-rounder Stuart Broad, but he will not be playing this year’s Celebrity Pro-Am due to a prior commitment.

Rory McIlroy and Gareth Bale at the BMW PGA Championship pro-am

McIlroy played alongside Gareth Bale at the pro-am a year ago

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Even though McIlroy isn’t among the professionals lined up for the pro-am, his preparations for the BMW PGA Championship have already begun.

McIlroy, who has a home in the area, was at Wentworth for a practice round on Monday, just one day after he defeated Joakim Lagergren in a thrilling playoff to claim his second Irish Open title.

Rory McIlroy at Wentworth

Rory McIlroy was at Wentworth on Monday

(Image credit: Getty Images)

He will be hoping to take that momentum into the tournament, where he is looking for his second BMW PGA Championship title after winning it in 2012.

The tournament is also being used to help prepare the European Ryder Cup team for the defence of its title on US soil when the match begins at Bethpage Black on September 26th.

McIlroy is the biggest name in the 12-player line-up, and he will be joined at the BMW PGA Championship by 10 of his teammates, with Sepp Straka the only European Ryder Cup player absent from the event.

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Mike Hall
Mike Hall
News Writer

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 


He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 


Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 


Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.

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