You look at the beauty of our model is that our players have the ability to select their schedule,” Monahan said.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan came to the defense of Rory McIlroy, whose tournament scheduling plan will leave him out of the Memorial Tournament this week and mark the third signature event he has missed this season.

Rory McIlroy has not explained his decision to skip a third signature event and specifically this week’s Memorial Tournament, one of the PGA Tour’s signature events.But he’s received backing from tournament host Jack Nicklaus and also PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan,