Masters champion Rory McIlroy, who avoided talking to the media at last month’s PGA Championship, said on Wednesday he did so because he was “pissed off” that news of his driver failing a test leaked and did not want to say anything he would regret.
McIlroy’s driver was ruled non-conforming ahead of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club where he switched to a backup and struggled off the tee before ending well out of contention in his first major since winning the Masters in April.
Ahead of this week’s Canadian Open, world number two McIlroy spoke to journalists for the first time since his pre-tournament press conference at the PGA Championship.
The Northern Irishman said he knew world number one Scottie Scheffler’s driver was also deemed non-conforming at Quail Hollow but his was the only name that got out.
“I was a little pissed off because I knew that Scottie’s driver had failed on Monday, but my name was the one that was leaked. It was supposed to stay confidential,” said McIlroy.
“Again, I didn’t want to get up there and say something that I regretted,” he added, saying he had been trying to protect Scheffler, equipment firm TaylorMade and the golf associations.
A day after SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio reported that McIlroy’s driver was ruled non-conforming, the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) of America said that was not unusual and it had no concerns about player intent.
No reason for the driver failure has emerged though it may have been simply from overuse.
MEDIA APPEARANCES NON-MANDATORY
McIlroy said he dodged the media to go and practice after a poor opening round to the PGA Championship and avoided them after the second round – when the report surfaced – so he could see his young daughter before she went to bed.
The five-times major champion said he was eager to leave the course after inclement weather delayed his third round then after the final round was simply in a rush to get home.
PGA Tour players are not mandated to address the media after their rounds but the decision by McIlroy, who is arguably the face of golf, garnered plenty of attention.
“From a responsibility standpoint, look, I understand, but if we all wanted to, we could all bypass you guys and we could just … go on social media and we could talk about our round and do it our own way,” said McIlroy.
“If they want to make it mandatory, that’s fine, but in our rules it says that it’s not, and until the day that that’s maybe written into the regulations, you’re going to have guys skip from time to time, and that’s well within our rights.”
