Clearly, the No. 1 golfer in the world has his priorities straight.
The WGC-Cadillac Match Play tournament will begin on Wednesday. Sixty-four of the world's top golfers will descend onto TPC Harding Park in hopes of claiming the $1.57 million winner's share. Following a 16-group, round-robin affair, the final 16 bracket will begin play.
That's where it gets interesting for Rory McIlroy.
The four-time Major champion, should he advance past the quarterfinal matches on Saturday, will have a massive conflict on his hands in the form of Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. The round is expected to end as late as 7:30 p.m. PDT, only an hour before the fight of the century is scheduled to begin.
McIlroy is adamant he will be ringside.
"Nothing that a few quick birdies won't change if I try and win 7 and 6,'' McIlroy said (via Fox Sports). ''If the fight starts at maybe 10 o'clock like they usually do, then it should be okay.''
"I went to [see] Pacquiao in '09, and then I think Mayweather fought later on that year, and then they were supposed to fight the next year and it never happened, so [I've] been waiting five years for this to happen,''he added. ''I always said if these two guys fought each other, I wouldn't miss the opportunity to go. Luckily, we're somewhere close where I can get in line."
''Hopefully, I'm still a part of this tournament at that time, but it just wasn't an opportunity that I was going to miss.''
Should his participation in the tournament stand in the way, there's always one other option: Throw the club into the lake and call it a day.
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