Rory McIlroy criticised for doing something which Tiger Woods never did in his entire career at the PGA Championship

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While the PGA Championship wasn’t good for Rory McIlroy on the course it is his off course behaviour which is now being questioned, with comparisons to the great Tiger Woods now being brought up.

McIlroy had a shocker around Quail Hollow to finish at three over for the weekend and a whopping 14 shots off eventual winner, Scottie Scheffler.

However, while McIlroy’s performance on course was poor, his behaviour off the course seemed equally as poor.

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McIlroy missed media duties all week, failing to appear in front of journalists in every single round.

On the flipside, Bryson DeChambeau showed McIlroy how it’s done by fronting up, despite his own disappointments.

And now, in the aftermath of the McIlroy/media debate, experience PGA Tour journalist Jason Sobel has made a telling observation.

Rory McIlroy does what Tiger Woods never did at the PGA Championship

While there’s no obligation for golfers to speak to the media, it is part and parcel of the game and without the media, many of them wouldn’t have the lives they now have.

For Rory McIlroy, this is a case of terrible optics and after being on such a high at The Masters, he’s taken some of the shine off everything.

Indeed, taking to X, Jason Sobel pointed out how McIlroy does indeed have no obligation, the fact he missed media chats for all four days is telling, and simply, something Tiger Woods never did.

“Quick take on Rory McIlroy not speaking with the media after any of his four rounds: Last year at Pebble, following his pre-tournament press conference, he stood with a group of reporters for some 45 minutes and spoke about the need for PGA Tour players to be more accessible. He’d recently been to an F1 race and saw how many interviews the drivers give, both directly before and after the races. There was some clarity, he told us, that golfers should hold themselves to similar standards, especially the superstars,” Sobel wrote on X.

“Personally, I’ve never been one to get annoyed if a player decides not to speak with us after a round. I don’t need to hear from each player every day. If Rory elects to take a day or two off when he plays poorly, that should be his prerogative. Tiger also did that, though infrequently. But Tiger never went four tournament days without speaking afterward. He knew that was his responsibility as a face of the game. Rory knows that, too. In fact, he’s said it himself.”

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Rory McIlroy has some explaining to do

While not everyone expects an interview every single time and at times, golfers can be emotional and a bit snappy with journalists, it is part of the game.

More so, it’s part of the game at the major championship when the eyes of the world are on you and, as someone with Rory McIlroy’s stature, people want to hear from these players.

McIlroy is going to need to explain to people why he missed media. His silence is deafening and ultimately, he’s the one coming out of this looking worse.

There may well be legitimate reasons. But if it’s purely down to his poor play and not being in the mood, then that, frankly, is unacceptable.