Sometimes I just need to escape, says McIlroy

Rory McIlroy has admitted there are times he needs to get away from golf — as he controversially did last week even though a world championship was being played.

The world No 1 returns to action at the Singapore Open today and by Sunday night he could have completed the same money-list double on the European and American tours achieved for the first time by Luke Donald last year.

Skipping the HSBC Champions in China did not harm his chances, but it did bring him criticism, especially as he was in the country at the start of the week for a head-to-head with Tiger Woods that was rumoured to have earned each of them a seven-figure sum.