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Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Rory McIlroy explains decision to duck media at PGA, saying he didn't want to discuss driver issue
CALEDON, Ontario — Rory McIlroy explained his decision not to speak to the media during last month's PGA Championship, saying Wednesday he was annoyed that news had leaked about his driver failing to pass inspection before the tournament. McIlroy said the results of equipment tests are supposed to be confidential and noted that Scottie Scheffler's driver had also failed before the championship, but that was not reported until afterward. Scheffler revealed after he won the PGA for his third major title that he had been forced to use a backup driver. 'I didn't want to get up there and say something that I regretted,' McIlroy said in a news conference at the Canadian Open, which begins Thursday. '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.' It was a strange week for McIlroy, who arrived at the PGA as the most celebrated player in golf after he completed the career Grand Slam with his triumph at the Masters. Instead of taking a victory lap at Quail Hollow — a course where he has won four times — McIlroy was in a bad mood all week, and his refusal to discuss the driver test was much debated. McIlroy gave a day-by-day breakdown of his decisions not to talk to reporters, saying he wanted to practice after his poor first round. He finished his second round late and wanted to put his daughter, Poppy, to bed. He didn't want to talk about his driver, he was tired after his weather-delayed third round, and after his week concluded with a tie for 47th place, he just wanted to go home. He reiterated that PGA Tour players are not required to speak to the media. 'I talk to the media a lot,' McIlroy said. 'I think there should be an understanding that this is a two-way street, and as much as we need to speak to you guys — we understand the benefit that comes from you being here and giving us the platform and everything else, I understand that — but again, I've been beating this drum for a long time. '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.' McIlroy also declined to talk to reporters after he blew a late lead and lost to Bryson DeChambeau in last year's U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2. He's a two-time winner of the Canadian Open, and he skipped a PGA Tour signature event last week at the Memorial to play in Canada as his tuneup for next week's U.S. Open at Oakmont. Whether he'll be interested in discussing his performance at the storied western Pennsylvania venue remains to be seen. 'If we all wanted to, we could all bypass you guys and we could just go on this,' McIlroy said, holding up his phone. '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.' golf: /hub/golf
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
McIlroy defends media snub after leak about non-conforming driver at PGA Championship
CALEDON – Rory McIlroy rarely skips his media responsibilities, but at the PGA Championship, he was nowhere to be seen. McIlroy explained at the RBC Canadian Open on Wednesday why he skipped media duties after all four rounds of the season's second men's golf major. Some of it, he said, had to do with long days and wanting to help put his daughter Poppy to bed. But a lot had to do with his annoyance toward two unnamed members of the press corps. 'If we all wanted to, we could all bypass you guys and we could just go on this,' said McIlroy, holding up his cellphone. '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.' Specifically, McIlroy was annoyed that it was leaked that his driver was disqualified by the USGA before play began at the PGA Championship, forcing him to use a driver he was not comfortable with. He noted that world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler also had his driver disqualified, but that was not reported until later. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. 'I talk to the media a lot,' McIlroy said at a news conference. 'I think there should be an understanding that this is a two-way street, and as much as we need to speak to you guys — we understand the benefit that comes from you being here and giving us the platform and everything else, I understand that — but again, I've been beating this drum for a long time. '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.' McIlroy said that caution played a role in his decision to skip those four post-round availabilities. 'I didn't want to get up there and say something that I regretted, either,' said McIlroy. '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.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 4, 2025.
The 42
4 hours ago
- Business
- The 42
'I was a little pissed off' - McIlroy breaks silence on driver controversy and media blackout
RORY MCILROY SAYS he was 'pissed off' over the non-conforming driver furore that enveloped his off-colour performance at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow last month, saying it contributed to his decision not to speak to the media after any of his four rounds. Though McIlroy hosted a press conference the day before competition began at Quail Hollow, it was unprecedented that he did not speak again across a major championship at which he made the cut. It emerged on Friday during the PGA Championship that McIlroy was forced to change his driver ahead of the competition, as the driver he had in use had been deemed non-conforming under a random test conducted by the USGA. It was non-conforming owing to wear and tear: as the face of drivers thin out from use, it can provide a trampoline effect which can add a slight bit of extra distance. The USGA deem this non-conforming, and so McIlroy was forced into a late change. The governing body tested a third of the field at random, with eventual winner Scottie Scheffler also forced into a change. That fact only emerged on Sunday evening, however, when Scheffler was asked about it. Ordinarily the names of the non-conforming players remain confidential. 'The driver stuff, 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,' said McIlroy. 'I didn't want to get up there and say something that I regretted, either, because there's a lot of people [involved]. 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. 'With Scottie's stuff, that's not my information to share. 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.' Though annoyed about it, McIlroy didn't swerve the press solely for that reason. Advertisement '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. 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 2:00 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.' McIlroy was also asked about the framework which allowed him to skip out on press duties, as professional golfers are not contractually mandated to speak to the media after their rounds. 'If we all wanted to, we could all bypass you guys and we could go on social media and talk about our round and do it our own way', he replied. 'We understand that's not ideal for you guys and there's a bigger dynamic at play here. I talk to you guys a lot, I think there should be an understanding this is a two-way street. 'We understand the benefit of you being here and giving us the platform and everything else, again I have been beating this drum for a long time, if they want to make it mandatory that's fine but in our rules it says it's not and until the day that's written into the regulations you'll have guys skip from time to time. I've skipped my fair share of media requests over the years. Somedays, you don't feel like talking.' McIlroy skipped the Memorial Tournament on the PGA Tour last week but is teeing it up in Canada ahead of next week's US Open, the third major of the year. 'I love that it's the week leading into the U.S. Open,' said McIlroy. 'I told this story a little bit, but before playing in this event, 2016, 2017, 2018, I missed three cuts in a row at the U.S. Open, and since playing the Canadian Open the week before, I've had six top 10s in a row.' In the immediate aftermath of his extraordinary victory at the Masters, McIlroy spoke of 'playing with house money' and being unburdened and under less pressure at future major championships. Today, however, he struck a different tone. 'I don't know if I'm chasing anything. I would certainly say that the last few weeks I've had a couple weeks off, and going and grinding on the range for three or four hours every day is maybe a little tougher than it used to be,' he said. 'You have this event in your life that you've worked towards and it happens, sometimes it's hard to find the motivation to get back on the horse and go again. I think the last two weeks have been good for me just as a reset, just to sort of figure out where I'm at in my own head, what I want to do, where I want to play. 'I thought it was a good time to reset some goals. I've had a pretty good first half of the season, and I want to have a good second half of the season now, too.' McIlroy tees off alongside Ludvig Aberg and Luke Clanton at 12.40pm Irish time tomorrow. Shane Lowry is in the field too, and has been paired with defending champion Robert MacIntyre and local favourite Corey Conners at 5.55pm. Seamus Power is out slightly after that, alongside Rafael Campos and Peter Malnati at 6.06pm.
Daily Record
6 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Record
Rory McIlroy reveals PGA media snub reason as test leak left him fuming and only interested in heading home
McIlroy was back in front of the cameras and microphones as he kicked off his RBC Canadian Open bid in Toronto Rory McIlroy admits he was "p****d off" after news of his driver failing a technical test before the USA PGA Championship was made public. The World No 2 had a driver yanked from his bag two days before the tournament after it failed on the so-called "trampoline effect" - when the club face becomes two springy. Any test failures are supposed to stay confidential. McIlroy went on to record a disappointing joint-47th placed finish. It later emerged that World No 1 and tournament winner Scottie Scheffler also saw one of his clubs fail a test, but that information remained under wraps until he admitted it himself in his victorious press conference. McIlroy then decided he wouldn't be speaking to the media across all four days of the major, and was only back in front of the mics and cameras today during the RBC Canadian open in Toronto. "I was a little p***ed off because I knew that Scottie's driver had failed but my name was the one that was leaked. It was supposed to stay confidential," said McIlroy. "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. "With Scottie's stuff, that's not my information to share. 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, a two-time Canadian Open winner, added: "The PGA was a bit of a weird week. I didn't play well the first day, so I wanted to go practise, so that was fine. Second day we finished late, I wanted to go back and see (daughter) Poppy before she went to bed. "The driver news broke, Saturday I was supposed to tee off at 8:20 in the morning and I didn't tee off until almost two in the afternoon, another late finish, and I was just tired, wanted to go home. "Then Sunday, I just wanted to get on the plane and go back to Florida." After finally securing golf's grand slam with his historic Masters victory early this year, McIlroy admits his motivations have changed. He added: "I don't know if I'm chasing anything. "I would certainly say that the last few weeks I've had a couple of weeks off and going and grinding on the range for three or four hours every day is maybe a little tougher than it used to be. "You have this event in your life that you've worked towards and it happens, sometimes it's hard to find the motivation to get back on the horse and go again. "I think the last two weeks have been good for me just as a reset, just to sort of figure out where I'm at in my own head, what I want to do, where I want to play. "I thought it was a good time to reset some goals."
NBC Sports
6 hours ago
- General
- NBC Sports
Rory McIlroy 'pissed off' his name, not Scottie Scheffler's, was leaked for failed driver test at PGA
Rory McIlroy admitted Wednesday that he was 'pissed off' that his name had leaked after what was supposed to be confidential driver testing ahead of the PGA Championship. That failed test was just part of a 'weird week' that saw the reigning Masters champion decline to talk to the media after all four tournament rounds at Quail Hollow. McIlroy said he was 'pretty annoyed' at the report that his driver was deemed nonconforming during standard USGA equipment testing when he knew that the world No. 1, Scottie Scheffler, also needed to put in a backup driver head for the year's second major. 'But my name was the one that was leaked,' McIlroy said. 'It was supposed to stay confidential.' McIlroy said, after the news broke during the second round, he didn't want to speak to the media because he didn't want to 'get up there and say something that I regretted.' 'I'm trying to protect Scottie; I didn't want to mention his name,' said McIlroy of Scheffler, who only went into detail about his failed driver test after his PGA victory on Sunday night. '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. 'With Scottie's stuff, that's not my information to share. I knew that that had happened, but that's not on me to share that, and 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 said logistics played a factor in his decision to skip any post-round media the other day, whether it was because of a late start, a long delay prior to his third round or just wanting to fly home after a disappointing tie for 47th in his first major start since completing the career Grand Slam. On the wider topic of post-round availability, McIlroy has been clear for months that, under the current regulations, players can steer clear of any media obligations whenever they see fit. 'If we all wanted to, we could all bypass you guys and we could go on (our phones) and do it our own way,' he said, before adding: 'We understand the benefit that comes from you being here and giving us the platform and everything else. So I understand that. But I've been beating this drum for a long time: 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 our regulations, you're going to have guys skip from time to time, and that's well within our rights.'
