McIlroy replaced by Bradley for PGA Grand Slam

Keegan Bradley will take Rory McIlroy’s place in October’s PGA Grand Slam of GolfKeegan Bradley has been confirmed as the replacement for Rory McIilroy in October’s $1.35m PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda.

US PGA winner McIlroy cannot take his place in the season-ending ending battle between the four majors winners due to clash with previous commitments in Asia.

While the winner will take home $600,000 and there’s a handsome $200,000 on offer just for turning up at Bermuda’s Port Royal Golf Course from October 23-24, McIlroy already has bigger fish to fry.

Having won the Lake Malaren Shanghai Masters last year (and the biggest first prize in golf of $2m ), he will be back there again from October 25-28 for the re-launched BMW Masters.

The event has now been added to the European Tour schedule, the week before the WGC-HSBC Champions - and will have a 78-man field and outside the season ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, the joint biggest purse on the European Tour this year at $7m.

The field is limited to the top 60 available players from the top 100 in the world rankings, four wild cards and 14 players from the Chinese Golf Association.

While Graeme McDowell was being lined up as a replacement for McIlroy in Bermuda, reigning PGA Grand Slam champion Bradley was first in line to join Masters winner Bubba Watson, US Open champion Webb Simpson and Open winner Ernie Els in what the PGA of America calls “the most exclusive tournament in golf.”

Rory McIlroy will be playing for huge sums over the next four months.McIlroy has his eye on becoming the youngest winner of the European Tour’s Order of Merit - the Race to Dubai - which he currently leads by more than €437,000 from Justin Rose.

The 23-year old, who watched girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki struggle with a knee injury and lose in the first round of the US Open in New York last night, faces a busy end to his season with the ($10m) FedEx Cup play-offs and the Ryder Cup coming before a hectic run in Asia.

Rory McIlroy’s end of season schedule (*Confirmed)

• This week - Deutsche Bank Championship, TPC Boston, Mass.*
• September 6-9 BMW Championship, Crooked Stick, Indiana*
• Week off
• September 20-23 Tour Championship, East Lake, Atlanta*
• September 28-30 Ryder Cup, Medinah, Chicago*
• October 9-12 Turkish Airlines World Golf Finals, Antalya GC, Turkey*
  
• Week off
  
• October 25-30 BMW Masters, Shanghai*
• November 1-4, WGC-HSBC Champions, Shanghai
• Week off
• November 15-18, UBS Hong Kong Open (defending champion)
• November 22-25 DP World Tour Championship, Dubai*
• November 29-Dec 2 Chevron World Challenge, Sherwood CC, California