Rory McIlroy reminds media he doesn’t have to talk

Rory McIlroy admits he took it personally when a media leak led to widespread reporting of his driver failing inspection prior to the PGA Championship.

McIlroy said he was thinking about all of the others he would have to protect — including World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler — when he made the decision to call off media availability following all four of his rounds at Quail Hollow in North Carolina. He shared his thoughts on Wednesday after he touched down for the Canadian Open, a final tuneup before the U.S. Open next week.

“The PGA was a bit of a weird week. I didn’t play well. I didn’t play well the first day, so I wanted to go practice, so that was fine,” McIlroy said of why he decided to ditch media at the PGA Championship. “Second day we finished late. I wanted to go back and see 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 2:00 in the afternoon, another late finish, was just tired, wanted to go home.

“Then Sunday, I just wanted to get on the plane and go back to Florida.”

Coming off of a Masters win that completed his career Grand Slam, McIlroy was a favorite at the PGA Championship. Scheffler’s driver was ruled nonconforming before his five-stroke victory at Quail Hollow, which didn’t help McIlroy’s mood.

“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. It was supposed to stay confidential. Two members of the media were the ones that leaked it,” McIlroy said Wednesday. “Again, I didn’t want to get up there and say something that I regretted, either, because there’s a lot of people that — 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. I just didn’t want to get up there and say something that I regretted at the time.”

Scheffler was forthright in discussions about the driver being ruled nonconforming and said he felt like the decision was coming far earlier than it did.

McIlroy joined the chorus of players reminding media the PGA Tour doesn’t require post-match interviews. Whereas most pro sports leagues mandate a limited amount of access, several golfers have been clear there are no such bylaws for tour participants.

“From a responsibility standpoint, look, I understand,” McIlroy said. “But if we all wanted to, we could all bypass (press conferences), 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.”

–Field Level Media