KAPALUA, Hawaii – It must have been a sight for anyone who noticed Rory McIlroy trudging through the snow last month in Rochester, N.Y., on his way to an indoor hitting bay.
The Northern Irishman spent his time before traveling to the year-opening event in Maui visiting his in-laws in upstate New York. But he wasn’t going to let the winter conditions keep him from being prepared for perhaps the most anticipated season of his career.
A half-dozen times in McIlroy’s career he’s qualified for the winners-only event and each time he's passed on the chance to start his calendar in paradise.