Rory McIlroy said Wednesday during a news conference at the RBC Canadian Open that the leaked testing results of a non-conforming driver at the PGA Championship three weeks ago contributed to his decision not to do any media interviews after any round of the tournament.
McIlroy, who was coming off his Masters victory and playing at a Quail Hollow Club course where he had won four times, got off to a slow start in the PGA Championship and declined media interviews after his rounds, as is his right.
On Friday, during the second round, SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio reported that McIlroy’s driver had been part of random testing prior to the tournament and failed, meaning it had exceeded the point allowed for “spring-like effect.”
The PGA of America, after initially not commenting, released a statement explaining the process conducted by the United States Golf Association that is standard across the PGA Tour and the major championships. Some 50 players had their drivers tested. PGA champion Scottie Scheffler acknowledged after the tournament that his driver was also tested and had failed.
After explaining that the PGA “was a bit of a weird week,” McIlroy said he didn’t want to “speak on that” after the driver news broke.
“Look, the driver stuff ... 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. Two members of the media were the ones that leaked it,” McIlroy said at TPC Toronto.
“Again, I didn’t want to get up there and say something that I regretted, either, because there’s a lot of people that—I’m trying to protect Scottie. I don’t want to mention his name. I’m trying to protect TaylorMade. I’m trying to protect the USGA, PGA of America, myself. I just didn’t want to get up there and say something that I regretted at the time.
“With Scottie’s stuff, that’s not my information to share. I knew that that had happened, but that’s not on me to share that, and I felt that process is supposed to be kept confidential, and it wasn’t for whatever reason. That’s why I was pretty annoyed at that.”
Asked how he stood on an obligation to speak to the media, McIlroy noted that he had many times skipped media interviews following rounds over the years.
“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 this and we could go on social media and we could talk about our round and do it our own way,” he said, showing his phone for emphasis.
“We understand that that’s not ideal for you guys and there’s a bigger dynamic at play here, and I talk to you guys and I talk to the media a lot. I think there should be an understanding that this is a two-way street, and as much as we need to speak to you guys, we’re sort of—like we understand the benefit that comes from you being here and giving us the platform and everything else. So I understand that.
“But again, I’ve been beating this drum for a long time. 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.”
McIlroy, who skipped last week’s signature event, the Memorial Tournament, was not asked about that decision.
He did explain that he’s played the Canadian Open every year since it moved to this date the week prior to the U.S. Open in 2019 and likes the event as a lead-in.
“I told this story a little bit, but before playing in this event, 2016, 2017, 2018, I missed three cuts in a row at the U.S. Open, and since playing the Canadian Open the week before, I’ve had six top 10s in a row,” said McIlroy, who finished second last year at Pinehurst to Bryson DeChambeau. “So there’s something to that.
“But then obviously playing in front of the Canadian fans and everything that goes along with that and the enthusiasm, you guys only get to see this sort of golf once a year, so I think once it does come along, it’s really appreciated. Then I think that atmosphere is really appreciated by the players that get to play in front of those fans.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘I Was a Little Pissed Off’: Rory McIlroy Explains Silence at PGA Championship.
