After stepping off the course and notching a plus four outing on the day — capping off a below average three-day showing for his standards — recent Masters champion Rory McIlroy let his frustrations fly at the media.
This marked the first time McIlroy attended a post-round press conference since winning the Masters back in April.
The media brought McIlroy’s growing record of absence to light, prompting him on why he has continuously bobbed availability after rounds. Not attributing the behavior to his play, the golfer actually took a shot back at the crowd.
“No, not really. It’s more a frustration with you guys … I feel like I’ve earned the right to do whatever I want to do,” McIlroy said.
On Tuesday, McIlroy gave vague, one-worded answers when asked what driver he planned to use. Instead of telling media members which model he had settled on, he finally told them to “come out and watch me hit balls, and you’ll see.”
He confessed that the previous, awkward interaction was part of where his feelings towards the media stemmed from.
The PGA tour does not require players to attend media availability, and when asked if McIlroy was ‘daring’ higher ups to enforce a rule change, he was offended, responding that he enjoys the luxury that it grants.
The press conference was brief, with McIlroy seemingly unenthusiastic about the finish line of the tournament.
“Hopefully a round in under four and a half hours and get out of here,” McIlroy said on his hopes for Sunday.
The star golfer alluded to his previous indifference on whether he would even golf during the back two days, joking about his current position.
“Yeah, it’s funny. Like it’s much easier being on the cut line when you don’t really care if you’re here for the weekend or not,” McIlroy laughed. “I was sort of thinking, ‘Do I really want two more days here or not?’” McIlroy said.
McIlroy’s apathy doesn’t come as a surprise. After winning the Masters, he admitted to feeling ‘flat’ on the golf course ever since.
This feeling, in tandem with the toughness that Oakmont presents, has produced McIlroy’s lackluster performance.
“Yeah, it’s very difficult. You got to be on every single shot. You know if you miss a fairway, you’re going to be scrambling for par. You know if you miss your landing spot, even coming from the fairways by a couple yards, these greens repel the ball into rough and you’re up against collars and it just makes things very, very tricky. So, yeah, you got to be totally on your game,” McIlroy said of Oakmont’s mentally taxing nature.
A better day could have produced a better attitude for McIlroy, especially after coming into the day T-44 and down two strokes from the previous — his disappointment was obvious.
“I was hoping to play better, but I didn’t,” McIlroy said.
Sunday should render interesting for the now-T-50 positioned player with 18 holes to rewrite a woeful starting stint.
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