With four previous wins at Quail Hollow, there were huge expectations that Rory McIlroy would follow up his victory at The Masters last month with a sixth Major title at the PGA Championship.
In the end, he never really looked like forcing his way into contention, with a round of 72 on Sunday leaving him on three-over for the tournament. Soon after that, he headed home before leader Scottie Scheffler had even begun his final round after failing to talk to the media for the fourth successive day.
That meant that, unlike many other players, the one time McIlroy addressed the media at Quail Hollow was on Wednesday for his pre-tournament press conference.
There’s no doubt that McIlroy will have been far from satisfied with his performance this week, particularly after it came just five weeks after he took his name among golf’s greats by completing his career Grand Slam at Augusta National.
There was also controversy when, during his second round, it was reported that he had been forced into a driver change before the tournament began when his had been deemed non-conforming.
The following day, the PGA of America issued a statement on the testing program. It didn’t name McIlroy, but it clarified that the program is a “standard process” and that it’s “not an unusual occurrence” for drivers to become non-conforming without a player’s knowledge, while also stressing that it didn’t have “any concerns about player intent.”
While it’s unclear whether McIlroy opted to skip media duties after each of his four rounds because of his performance, the report on his driver or something else, it has not gone down well with everyone.
For example, Normal Sports’ Kyle Porter wrote on X that McIlroy’s decision was “bizarre and deserves criticism.” He then explained: “I don't get real wound up about players missing media for a round or honestly even several of them,” but went on to describe McIlroy’s media no-show as “an abdication of responsibility as one of the greats.”
Apparently Rory skipped media (after being requested) for the fourth consecutive day at the PGA.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,…May 18, 2025
It’s not the first time recently where McIlroy has decided against talking to the media after a round. He also skipped the chance to talk after a late collapse in the first round at The Masters.
It’s not just McIlroy in recent months, either, with Collin Morikawa causing a stir after his late disappointment at the Arnold Palmer Invitational led to him skipping his post-round media session. Shane Lowry then declined to talk to the media after bogeying two of his final three holes at the Truist Championship as Sepp Straka won.
Before The Players Championship, Morikawa defended his decision by explaining: “I don’t owe anyone anything,” and ahead of The Masters, McIlroy agreed, saying: “Well, he's right. Not that I think he could have worded it a little bit better, but look, every other athlete, whether it be in the NBA, NFL, they're obligated to speak to you guys after a game. We're not.
"Whether that's something that the PGA Tour looks to in terms of putting that into their rules and regulations, but as long as that's not the case and we have that option to opt out whenever we want, expect guys to do that from time to time.”
After declining media duties following every round of the PGA Championship, there’s no doubt McIlroy made full use of that option this week.
