Rory McIlroy defended his decision not to speak to the media after each of his four rounds at last month’s PGA Championship, saying Wednesday that he was upset about news leaking that his driver had been declared nonconforming in pre-tournament testing during what was already a “weird week.”
McIlroy, who became the sixth golfer to complete the career Grand Slam by capturing a green jacket at the Masters, declined to talk to reporters each day while tying for 47th at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.
During the second round, SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio reported that McIlroy’s driver had been deemed nonconforming in testing earlier in the week by the United States Golf Association and that he couldn’t use it during the tournament.
The PGA of America later confirmed that it had asked the USGA to conduct testing at Quail Hollow and said about 50 players had their drivers inspected. The testing results were supposed to remain confidential.
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World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler’s driver was also ruled nonconforming before he won his third major championship with a five-stroke victory at Quail Hollow.
“I was a little pissed off because I knew that Scottie’s driver had failed on Monday, but my name was the one that was leaked,” McIlroy said during a news conference ahead of this week’s RBC Canadian Open at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley. “It was supposed to stay confidential. Two members of the media were the ones that leaked it.
“Again, I didn’t want to get up there and say something that I regretted, either, because I’m trying to protect Scottie. I don’t want to mention his name. I’m trying to protect TaylorMade. I’m trying to protect the USGA, PGA of America, myself.”
Scheffler acknowledged that his driver had been tossed after the conclusion of his final round, saying he “had a feeling that it was going to be coming because I’ve used that driver for over a year. I was kind of fortunate for it to last that long, I felt like.”
“With Scottie’s stuff, that’s not my information to share,” McIlroy said. “I knew that that had happened, but that’s not on me to share that. I felt that process is supposed to be kept confidential, and it wasn’t, for whatever reason. That’s why I was pretty annoyed at that.”
McIlroy described the PGA Championship as a bit of a “weird week” because he played poorly in the first round, carding a 3-over 74, at a course where he had won four times. He finished late in the day on Friday, and his third-round tee time was delayed about six hours because of inclement weather.
“I didn’t play well the first day, so I wanted to go practice, so that was fine,” McIlroy said. “Second day, we finished late. I wanted to go back and see [daughter] Poppy before she went to bed. The driver news broke. I didn’t really want to speak on that.
“Saturday, I was supposed to tee off at 8:20 in the morning. I didn’t tee off until almost 2 o’clock in the afternoon, another late finish. [I] was just tired, wanted to go home. Then Sunday, I just wanted to get on the plane and go back to Florida.”
Media accessibility has been a hot topic on the PGA Tour this season. Two-time major champion Collin Morikawa was criticized for not talking to reporters after he squandered a three-stroke lead with five holes to play in the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March.
“I don’t owe anyone anything,” Morikawa said the next week at the Players Championship. “No offense to you guys, but for me in the moment, I didn’t want to be around anyone.”
At the Masters, Ireland’s Shane Lowry suggested that golfers needed a 30-minute cooling-off period to gather their thoughts after a round. He didn’t talk to reporters after carding bogeys on the final three holes at the Truist Championship in early May.
“From a responsibility standpoint, look, I understand,” McIlroy said. “But if we all wanted to, we could all bypass [the media], and we could go on social media and we could talk about our round and do it our own way. We understand that that’s not ideal for you guys, and there’s a bigger dynamic at play here.
“I talk to the media a lot. I think there should be an understanding that this is a two-way street. We understand the benefit that comes from you being here and giving us the platform and everything else, so I understand that.”
Unlike in the NBA and NFL, PGA Tour golfers aren’t required to talk to the media under the circuit’s bylaws.
“I’ve been beating this drum for a long time,” McIlroy said. “If they want to make it mandatory, that’s fine. But in our rules it says that it’s not, and until the day that that’s maybe written into the regulations, you’re going to have guys skip from time to time, and that’s well within our rights.”
