OAKMONT, Pa. — Something is amiss with Rory McIlroy and yet it is difficult to decipher what exactly it is.
Sure, he’s dealing with the Masters hangover. He’s not thrilled with his game at the moment and is frustrated by an exacting Oakmont Country Club course.
And he’s clearly miffed with the media, although aside from the driver issue at the PGA Championship, even that is somewhat mysterious.
For the first time following a round at the last two major championships, McIlroy spoke to reporters after shooting 74 to complete 54 holes at 10 over par and well out of contention.
Asked specifically about his frustrations, McIlroy gave a mixed answer.
“It’s more frustration with you guys,” he said to a group of reporters. When asked in what way he said, “I don’t know ... I have been totally available for the last few years and I’m not saying… maybe not you guys, but maybe more just the whole thing.”
McIlroy then was asked about the driver issue at the PGA Championship. He clearly was then and remains now annoyed with the fact that confidential information about driver testing was leaked and ultimately reported.
While driving testing is routine and players have to replace their clubs if they don’t conform, McIlroy seems to not only have a problem with the fact that the information got out but also that it was reported.
“Yeah, part of it ... I mean, that was a part of it. Yeah, that was a part of it,” McIlroy said. “But it’s not as if ... like at Augusta I skipped you guys on Thursday [following the first round], so again, it’s not as if it’s out of the ordinary. I’ve done it before. I’m just doing it a little more often.”
McIlroy has said previously that talking to the media is not required and how if that is the case you have to expect that players will sometimes decline.
He’s also been a frequent interview subject due to his stature in the game, his level of success and his dealings in PGA Tour governance issues. McIlroy has often been a go-to source for information or opinion on the on-going negotiations the PGA Tour is having with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.
McIlroy was available pre-tournament last week at the RBC Canadian Open and after each of the tournament rounds when he missed the cut. He did a pre-tournament interview session Tuesday at Oakmont.
It hasn’t helped that McIlroy is not playing well. He tied for 47th at the PGA Championship, missed the cut by 12 shots at the Canadian and needed to hold on Friday to make the cut here, finishing at 146, 6 over par, to make it by one.
Even that didn’t seem to make his mood much better.
“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 said, chuckling. “I was sort of thinking, do I really want two more days here or not. So it makes it easier to play better when you’re in that mindset.
“I’ve certainly experienced times where I haven’t played the way I’ve wanted to. So, yeah, like it’s not—I actually feel like I’ve played O.K. this week. It’s a sort of golf course where the tiniest mistakes get penalized a lot and that’s sort of how it’s felt this week.”
McIlroy acknowledged again that the aftermath of winning the Masters and completing the career Grand Slam has created a new dynamic for him that is going to require an adjustment.
“I alluded to it in my pre-tournament press conference, you don’t really know how it’s going to affect you,” he said. “You don’t know how you're going to react to such a—I wouldn’t say a life-altering occasion, but at least something that I’ve dreamt about for a long time. Yeah, I alluded to the fact that I have felt a little flat on the golf course afterwards.”
McIlroy doesn’t have much to play for on Sunday other than pride and perhaps simply trying to get some good vibes going into next week’s Travelers Championship, a PGA Tour signature event that he skipped last year.
After that, he will have a few weeks off before resuming play at the Scottish Open followed by the British Open.
Asked about what he hopes for on Sunday, McIlroy said: “Hopefully a round in under 4½ hours and get out of here.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rory McIlroy Says He’s Unhappy With the Media and His Play.