Rory McIlroy ‘did not like’ what people once said about him and it led to him making a big change in his game

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With Rory McIlroy’s performance on the course at the PGA Championship proving to be nothing to shout about, many instead focused on his decision to not speak to the media once after the tournament got going.

It was bizarre to see Rory McIlroy not speak to the media at all once the PGA Championship got underway. And ultimately, one of the reasons the Northern Irishman did snub the press was his frustration over the news leaking that his driver was found to be non-conforming.

McIlroy is no stranger to growing annoyed with what has been said about him, it turns out.

Of course, his form is a worry heading into this week’s US Open. He has been poor since winning The Masters back in April, missing the cut at the RBC Canadian Open last week.

Rory McIlroy explains how he changed his game to improve his US Open form

But perhaps there is reason for optimism heading to Oakmont for the US Open. McIlroy has finished second at the event in each of the last two years, while he has not finished outside of the top 10 at this major since 2018.

Ahead of Thursday’s opening round, McIlroy was asked about gaining a reputation for being much better in soft conditions after winning the 2011 US Open, and how he improved after missing three cuts in a row just a few years later.

“I think it’s probably a combination of both, or everything. I didn’t like that reputation because I felt like I was better than that reputation, so that’s ego driven in some way,” he said.

“But I allude to this all the time. I missed the cut at the U.S. Open in 2016, 2017 and 2018, and we were here in ’16, Erin Hills in ’17, which is what it is, and then 2018 at Shinnecock I felt — Shinnecock was a really hard one because I love that golf course, and to perform the way I did there, it really hurt me.

“I made a decision to be like, okay, I want to — and then I would go back, I’d play Hartford the next week and I’d feel really comfortable on a PGA Tour setup, and then I think it was that week where it clicked. It was like, why am I so comfortable here in Hartford but last week I had no clue what to do? So that’s when I made the decision at that back end of 2018 into 2019, I want to try to build my game around the toughest tests that we have in the game.

“Then as you’ve seen since 2019, six top 10s in a row at this tournament, obviously finished second the last two years in a row, and I’ve definitely become a much more confident U.S. Open player and I’m way more comfortable on those firm, fast setups like you saw at Pinehurst last year and LACC the year before that.

“Obviously the U.S. Open went from probably my least favourite major to probably my favourite because of what it asks from you, and I love that challenge.”

How Rory McIlroy’s US Open form compares to the other majors

McIlroy has now more top 10s at the US Open than at any other major. It was also the first major he won after such a stunning performance at Congressional back in 2011.

Interestingly, he has also missed more cuts at the US Open than any other major, too. Thankfully for McIlroy, he has been exceptional in this event since 2019. He really should have won in 2024 at Pinehurst, while he had another amazing opportunity one year earlier at LACC.

Based on his recent performances, you would imagine that the run is in serious danger this week. But McIlroy has already proven this year what he can do when people start to doubt him.