Rory McIlroy probably feels that there are very few positives to take from the PGA Championship this past week, with the Northern Irishman finishing well down the field at Quail Hollow.
It certainly appears to be a week for Rory McIlroy to forget. Heading into the PGA Championship, it appeared that everything was in place for the 36-year-old to follow his Masters triumph with a sixth major title.
Quail Hollow has been good for McIlroy over the years. He had won four times at the venue. However, he ended up barely making the cut and finished the week at three over par – 14 shots adrift of Scottie Scheffler.
McIlroy also came in for plenty of criticism across the week. Surprisingly, he did not speak to the media once once the tournament got going. And he was put at the centre of a bizarre incident in which his driver was found to be non-conforming by the USGA.
Paul McGinley reacts to Rory McIlroy not speaking to the media at the PGA Championship
As reported by Sky Sports, a number of players were randomly selected to have their drivers tested, and McIlroy was one of around 10 players who had to make a change to their bag.
Speaking on Golf Channel, Paul McGinley criticised McIlroy’s decision to avoid speaking to the press. However, he clearly had some sympathy for the position the world number two had been put into.
“My view is very clear. I said it about Collin Morikawa, I’ll say it about other players, and I’ll say it about Rory McIlroy – I don’t like when they don’t do interviews. I don’t think it’s good for the game, I don’t think it’s good for their persona. And Rory is very popular as you say. You run the risk of undoing a lot of the popularity when you don’t speak,” he said.
“Whatever his reasons were, I don’t know. But what I will say about the equipment, and Scottie Scheffler is correct and I agree with him, the authorities need to take ownership of this, and not leave it down to the players to deal with it. I think they could have got ahead of the story this week. They tested 30 players, Scottie has just said he had an issue with his driver as well. So why didn’t they come out and just be transparent and make a nice announcement at the start of the week, or do something every single week with this. There’s enough money around in the game. Have somebody there every week that checks 150 drivers, it’s not difficult. And it’s a shame that this kind of stuff is coming in. Now the people on social media are putting together ‘well, how long has it been that kind of driver, was it at The Masters?’ This is all speculation that shouldn’t have happened.”
Why the PGA Championship may prove to be a turning point as Rory McIlroy is criticised
To not hear from McIlroy for four days is extremely bizarre. And he has definitely opened the door for criticism after not speaking with the media after his opening round at Augusta National last month.
McIlroy has no defence for those who now hit out at his actions. He also left Pinehurst without speaking to the press after the final round of the US Open last year.
It is reaching the stage where the likes of the PGA Tour and the PGA of America are going to have to introduce rules which ensure that players have to speak to the media after each round.
Perhaps this year’s PGA Championship is going to prove to be a turning point, partially thanks to McIlroy’s actions.
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