Rory McIlroy finally broke his in-tournament media silence on Saturday and says he’s “earned the right” to pick and choose his media engagements. McIlroy did not speak at all throughout the PGA Championship and did not do post-round interviews after Thursday and Friday at the US Open at Oakmont.
The Northern Irish golf star had another challenging day at the tournament on Saturday, carding a three-over 73 to place him 10-over after three rounds. When finally fronting the media after a six-bogey third round at Oakmont, McIlroy faced queries about whether his course performance had led to his hiatus from interviews. “No, not really,” he retorted in front of the cameras. “It’s more a frustration with you guys.
“I’m just, yeah, I don’t know. I have, 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.”
When further questioned about whether the driver issues and ‘leak’ at Quail Hollow played a role, McIlroy elaborated: “I mean, that was a part of it. Yeah, that was a part of it. But it’s not as if- like at Augusta I skipped you guys on Thursday, so yeah, again, it’s not if as if- it’s not out of the ordinary. I’ve done it before; I’m just doing it a little more often.”
McIlroy was reminded that he had previously stated he felt he carried the PGA Tour, partly due to his media commitments. He continued: “I feel like I’ve earned the right to do whatever I want to do, yeah.”
Since the turn on Thursday, McIlroy has appeared visibly frustrated. During the second round, his irritation boiled over as he hurled his club in a tomahawk motion following a mistake on the par-5 12th and smashed a tee marker after an errant drive on the 17th.
This marked the sixth consecutive major round where McIlroy had opted not to speak with the media, having skipped the entire PGA Championship and the first two rounds of the US Open. However, he did open up about his recent lacklustre performances on the golf course since his Masters triumph at Augusta.
“I alluded to it in my pre-tournament press conference, you don’t really know how it’s going to affect you,” McIlroy explained. “You don’t know how you’re going to react to such a- I wouldn’t say a life-altering occasion, but at least something that I’ve dreamt about for a long time.
“Yeah, I alluded to the fact that, yeah, I have felt a little flat on the golf course afterwards.”