Rory McIlroy spoke of the need to escape from golf - as he controversially did last week even though a world championship was being played.
The world number one returns to action at the Barclays Singapore Open on Thursday 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.
McIlroy, who instead chose to fly to Bulgaria to watch girlfriend Carolina Wozniacki play tennis, said today: “It’s a big event, it’s a tough one to miss.
“I need those weeks where I can just completely escape from this, from my life.
“I forget where I am, what I do, I’m completely away from it and those weeks are very helpful for me.
“You see some guys out there, golf is everything, their life - of course it’s my life and I’m very lucky too - but sometimes you need to step away from it.
“Spending time with Caroline helps me to do that. That’s the biggest challenge for us going forward.
“I can’t play every week. If I had I would have played five in a row finishing the season and after playing Turkey and Ryder Cup and all the FedEx Cup stuff it’s just too much.”
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