Rory McIlroy on not talking after U.S. Open rounds: 'I feel like I've earned the right to do whatever I want to do'

Yahoo

18 hours ago

OAKMONT, Pa. — For a guy who achieved his life's dream about eight weeks ago, Rory McIlroy doesn't seem very happy these days.
McIlroy has spent the last decade or so as a media North Star, a go-to quote for everything from the history of the game to the state of LIV/PGA Tour negotiations to his own internal emotional spectrum. Always open, always willing to delve deeper than the usual 'felt good out there' oatmeal that most players serve up, McIlroy was by far the most thoughtful player on Tour.
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But that started to work against him in the heart of the LIV-PGA Tour conflict; in addition to the usual LIV stans ripping him at every turn and gloating over his misfortune, the Tour basically thanked him for his support … and then negotiated a legal settlement with LIV without even notifying him. He admitted to feeling used, and ratcheted back his state-of-golf commentary considerably.
Then came the Masters, and that glorious exorcism of a victory. McIlroy exulted in the win, thankful at last to shake off 10 years of 'is it ever going to happen again?' questions.
The easy assumption then was that McIlroy, freed of the burdens of expectation, would go on a mad tear through the golf world. Forget career grand slam! Could he win an actual grand slam this year? Are seven majors on the table? Eight? Ten?
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Yeah, no. McIlroy face-planted in his first major since Augusta, finishing T47 at the PGA Championship. He missed the cut at the RBC Canadian last week. And he's carded three consecutive over-par rounds — 74, 72, 74 — for the first time at a major since the 2012 Open Championship.
Maybe because of that run of tough play, he's speaking less and less to media these days. He didn't speak at all at the PGA Championship, and darted away from requests on Thursday and Friday of the U.S. Open. (He did speak prior to the tournament at both events.)
Saturday, after a round that ended before the leaders even teed off, McIlroy spent about five minutes speaking to the media. After a couple brief summations of his game — 'Pretty average,' 'I was hoping to play better but I didn't' — he addressed the reason why he hasn't been speaking as much.
'It's more a frustration with you guys,' he said to the assembled media, before amending that — 'I've been totally available for the last few years, and I'm not saying — maybe not you guys, but maybe more just the whole thing,' meaning the public availability.
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When asked if he feels like he's earned the right not to talk to media, McIlroy responded, "I feel like I've earned the right to do whatever I want to do, yeah."
Here's his full press conference, for context:
PGA Tour players aren't required to speak to the media, a fact that McIlroy has made certain to mention several times in the last few weeks.
He allowed that the nothingburger of a controversy which flared up over his driver being out of compliance just before the PGA Championship has contributed to his silence: 'Yeah, that was a part of it.' McIlroy has indicated he was upset his name came out when Scottie Scheffler's didn't, even though both of their drivers failed the USGA's testing … and even though drivers failing is largely an indication they're being used frequently, not that the player is attempting to skirt rules.
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McIlroy's decision to blame the media, which reported the story, rather than the USGA or PGA Tour source who leaked it, is a curious one — and the easy way out. The media's an easy target, since blaming the messenger is a whole lot easier than addressing the underlying message.
But the media doesn't need to be, shouldn't be, the story here. The key issue is how McIlroy charts the next stage of his career. When asked on Tuesday what his five-year plan was going forward, he admitted, 'I don't have one. I have no idea. I'm sort of just taking it tournament by tournament at this point.'
Later in that interview, he noted that he's still very much in the exhale phase of his Masters victory. 'You have to enjoy what you've just accomplished,' he said. 'I certainly feel like I'm still doing that and I will continue to do that.'
That's a great philosophy … except that he doesn't seem to be enjoying anything very much, at least not in the public eye. He could probably use a few months off, but the relentless nature of the golf season — majors every month, the PGA Tour's playoffs right after all that, the Ryder Cup right after that — means it will be late September, at the earliest, before McIlroy can take his foot off the gas.
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McIlroy has always seemed more contemplative, more big-picture than most players. And by his own admission, he hasn't given himself — or taken — the opportunity to consider that big picture. Maybe that — more than the media, more than the uncharacteristically rocky performance — is at the heart of all this.
Or maybe that's all psychobabble, and he's just being kind of a jerk now that he's got that green jacket. Either one could work.
When you've achieved your life's dream, what do you do with the rest of your life? Rory McIlroy is finding out just how tough that question can be.