McIlroy skips Turkish Open amid security fears

SHANGHAI: World number three Rory McIlroy has made a late decision to skip this week’s Turkish Airlines Open over security fears.

The four-time major winner confirmed his pullout on Sunday from the first of the tour’s “Final Three” series of big money playoff events after finishing fourth in the WGC-HSBC Champions here on Sunday behind winner Hideki Matsuyama.

Asked by AFP if a rocket attack two weeks ago in the region which hosts the event had been behind his withdrawal, McIlroy said: “I think it’s obvious. I gave it a lot of thought, basically all week.

“It was sort of a weight on my mind and I felt like I slept a lot better last night knowing that I’d made a decision.”