Rory McIlroy Isn't Winning Many Friends With Recent Comments

View From The Fairway by Derek Clements

Rory McIlroy will have won himself few friends after the extraordinary interview he gave following the third round of the US Open.

He had once again dodged the media after the opening two rounds - something that is becoming a habit for the Northern Irishman - and defended himself by saying that he had earned the right to do whatever he wants. He also made it clear that he would continue to pick and choose when he would talk to the press.

Really?

Featured Content

It is abundantly clear that he is still harbouring a grudge over a leaked story surrounding his driver before last month's US PGA Championship.

You may recall that the United States Golf Association (USGA) told McIlroy to change the club two days before the tournament after an equipment inspection deemed it 'non-conforming'. Scottie Scheffler’s driver had also failed the tests but it was McIlroy who dominated the headlines. 

He has been around at the top of the game for 16 years and he must surely know that blaming the press for this story is a futile exercise, and utterly unfair. There is not a journalist alive who, having been told that The Masters champion’s driver had failed such a test, would not report the fact. And let’s get something straight here - nobody was suggesting that he was cheating. In every story I read it was made clear that the trampoline effect changes over time when being hit so hard and fast by golfers such as McIlroy.

The media were simply reporting information that had been passed on to them. I totally understand why McIlroy would have been so unhappy that he had one singled out and that there was no mention of Scheffler’s driver in the initial story but his beef should be with the USGA because that is surely where the story came from.

Incredibly, this was McIlroy’s first post-round interview at a major since winning The Masters in April.

There will, of course, be those who have sympathy with him but I have to say that I was taken aback when I heard him say: "I have earned the right to do whatever I want" in respect of media obligations.

He went on: "It's just frustration with you guys [some sections of the media."

McIlroy pointed to his past "record" with the press. "I have been totally available for the past number of years. That [driver issue] was a part of it but at Augusta I skipped you guys on Thursday. It's not out of the ordinary as I've done it before, but I am doing it a little more often. I feel like I've earned the right to do whatever I want to do."

He cut a surly figure as he described his US Open performance as "pretty average" and said he hoped his final round would be a case of taking "four and a half hours and out of here". 

And while many of the world’s top golfers worked their socks off to make it to the weekend McIlroy seemed to suggest he would rather have missed out. And to hear from that a world-class sportsman is extremely disappointing.

He said: "It's much easier when you're on the cut line when you don't really care if you're here for the weekend or not. I was thinking, 'do I want another two days here or not?', but it makes it easier to play when you're in that mindset.

"I've certainly experienced times when I haven't played the way I wanted to. I actually feel like I've played OK this week, but it's just the sort of golf course where the tiniest mistakes get penalised a lot and that's how it's felt.

"You've got to be on every single shot and if you miss a fairway, you're going to be scrambling for par. If you miss your landing spot by a couple of yards, these greens repel the ball into rough and it just makes things very tricky, so you've got to be on your game.

"The name of the game at Oakmont is staying patient and I have tried to do a good job of it out there, but it's just one of those golf courses where you can lose patience pretty quickly. I have driven the ball as good for a long time, so that's a positive from this week. I was hoping to play better, but didn't."

After a final round of 67 he once again agreed to speak to a select group of journalists. And this time he was more conciliatory. 

He said: "I climbed my Everest in April; and after you do something like that you have got to make your way back down and you have got to look for another mountain to climb. An Open at Portrush is certainly one of those. If I can’t get motivated to get up for an Open Championship at home then I don’t know what can motivate me. I just need to get myself in the right frame of mind. I probably haven’t been there these past few weeks. Getting home and having a couple of week off before that, hopefully feeling refreshed and rejuvenated will get me in the right place."

He needs to get his act and his head together, and soon.