Rory McIlroy has been heavily criticized for his “bizarre” behaviour at the PGA Championship this week.
After victory at The Masters last month, McIlroy was the favorite to win the tournament besides Scottie Scheffler.
Full of confidence and with an unbelievable record at Quail Hollow, it was hard to envisage him not being in contention on Sunday afternoon.
However, the Northern Irishman struggled on the golf course all week, and arguably performed even worse off it.
Kyle Porter calls out Rory McIlroy for skipping post-round interviews
McIlroy refused to speak to the media after all four rounds at the PGA Championship, reportedly due to his frustration at having to change his driver.
The world number two’s clubs were tested before the tournament, and his driver was not within the rules, so he had to swap it for his backup.
This understandably annoyed him, but golf writer Kyle Porter doesn’t think that made it okay for him to skip his post-round interviews.
“Apparently, Rory skipped media (after being requested) for the fourth consecutive day at the PGA,” Porter tweeted.
“I shouldn’t need to caveat any of this given how positively and publicly I’ve written about him over the years, but in case I do, just take a look at the backlog.
“More pertinently, skipping all four days is both bizarre and deserves criticism, especially given… 1. It’s his first major after winning the slam. 2. The report about having his driver taken away.
“I don’t get really wound up about players missing media for a round, or honestly even several of them. He talks a ton, more than anyone, and I don’t need his quotes to write a dumb newsletter.
“But to not talk at all after play started on Thursday (especially given all the requests) is out of character and – whether it’s fair or not – an abdication of responsibility as one of the greats.”
Rory McIlroy’s PGA Championship chances ended in round two
McIlroy started the PGA Championship in the best possible way, making a birdie on his first hole (the 10th). At that point, everyone surely expected him to play well this week.
Unfortunately, he immediately gave the shot back on the next hole and ended up finishing the round at three over par.
Still, all hope was not lost. He was four under through 10 holes and playing beautifully in the second round before back-to-back bogeys derailed him.
Yet, McIlroy showed great character to respond with back-to-back birdies at the 14th and 15th holes, until consecutive bogeys on the last two holes put out his flame.
He only made the cut on the number and shot 72s on Saturday and Sunday, ending up outside the top 40.
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