Rory McIlroy continues his bizarre behaviour since winning The Masters as latest move leaves him open to even more criticism

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When Rory McIlroy holed the putt on the 18th green at Augusta National which gave him sporting immortality, it appeared to be a moment which united a golfing world which has been so divided in recent years.

Golf fans could almost see the burden being removed from Rory McIlroy‘s shoulders as he completed the career grand slam. He had a first major title in 11 years, and he had a Masters victory which had looked destined to elude him.

McIlroy took everyone on a rollercoaster on that final Sunday. There is a reason why many fans would have been more worried when he opened up a four-shot lead around the turn than when he made a double bogey on the first hole.

And it seemed that McIlroy’s win could be the catalyst for a raft of major victories which would see the Northern Irishman close the gap on the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

That may still be the case. However, it is hard not to feel that a lot of that good feeling towards McIlroy has evaporated less than two months later.

And much of that appears to be McIlroy’s own doing.

Rory McIlroy set for further criticism after latest decision

McIlroy was prickly in his press conference ahead of the PGA Championship. And that would prove to be the final time he spoke to the media again all week as he had a poor time at Quail Hollow. There did not appear to be an obvious reason for him snubbing the press.

And of course, there are now plenty of questions being asked of the 36-year-old after he decided to skip The Memorial Tournament.

It is the first time since 2017 that McIlroy will not play at Muirfield Village. Instead, he is set to be in the field for the Canadian Open next week. Interestingly, Rex Hoggard suggested on 5 Clubs that he would have thought that he would have cleared the decision with Jack Nicklaus.

As Hoggard noted, Nicklaus and McIlroy have a great relationship. Nicklaus tipped McIlroy to win The Masters after the pair had discussed his strategy at Augusta National over lunch.

“Something had to give. That it was this one is interesting to me, because you and I both know how close Rory is to Jack. That relationship goes back many, many years,” he said.

“I’m sure that Rory and Jack had a conversation long before Rory ever decided to do this. And I’m sure that Jack’s response was, ‘you do whatever you feel is best to get you ready to play the US Open’. I’m sure that’s just the way he would tackle it.”

The golfing world did not need to wait too long for its answer. Nicklaus himself, admitted to being surprised that McIlroy had made no contact about skipping Memorial.

The decision definitely opens McIlroy up for criticism, with Dan Rapaport probably summing up on X how plenty of fans feel about the five-time major champion’s actions.

“Rory not calling Jack to tell him he’s not playing Memorial is not it. 5 mins would’ve gone a long way,” he wrote.

How Jack Nicklaus reacted to Rory McIlroy missing The Memorial Tournament in 2015

It is important to note that no-one will know what is going on behind the scenes for McIlroy. 2024 was a turbulent year off the course.

From a golfing perspective, it must be surreal to not have to worry about the career grand slam any longer after being so close for 11 years. What is he meant to do now that he has scaled the mountain?

But McIlroy has spoken to Nicklaus before about missing Memorial. In fact, 10 years ago, the Golden Bear had insisted that he supported McIlroy’s decision ahead of the 2015 event.

“Rory came to me and talked to me and said he was really in a pickle. I said, Rory, don’t worry about it. You and I are very close, we have no issues. I said if you have stuff you’ve got to do in Ireland and you’ve got to do that, I said you’ve got to do what’s right for you. You’ve got to get yourself ready for the U.S. Open, that’s what you’ve got to do,” he said.

“And that’s fine with me. And I think from the way I handled it, I don’t think you’ll see Rory miss here very often.”

Perhaps McIlroy will explain things in Canada next week. But given his silence since the PGA Championship started, there seems to be a reasonable chance that McIlroy could continue to leave everyone wondering what exactly has happened since The Masters.