Rory McIlroy has insisted he has ‘earned the right’ to swerve post-round interviews at the US Open.
The Northern Irishman did not speak to media for all four rounds of the PGA Championship in May, a tournament where his driver was found to be ‘non-conforming’ in random testing.
He had followed a similar pattern for the first two rounds at this year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club.
Although he managed to survive the cut by two strokes, something the likes of Bryson DeChambeau did not, McIlroy cut a frustrated figure after he shot a third-round 74 to leave him at +10 for the tournament.
However, in somewhat of a surprise, McIlroy chose to speak with the media following his third round on Saturday.
He began by assessing his third-round display and didn’t waste much of his breath on his verdict.
“Pretty average,” McIlroy said bluntly.
He then reluctantly lifted the lid on why he had snubbed interviews for the past six rounds at majors.
When asked if he skipped the post-round chats due to frustration with his performance, McIlroy responded: “No, not really. It’s more a frustration with you guys.”
The Northern Irishman conceded the fiasco surrounding his driver at the PGA Championship was ‘part’ of the reason, but insisted the decision to pass on the interviews was ‘not out of the ordinary’.
“I’ve done it before,” McIlroy said.
“I’m just doing it a little more often.”
@PaulHodowanic - XThe 36-year-old finally explained why he didn’t speak with the media at recent majors[/caption]View Tweet: t.co/ICgqAYnQON
McIlroy added: “I feel like I’ve earned the right to do whatever I want to do, yeah.”
The 36-year-old’s tense exchange with the media was the latest chapter in what has quickly become a major to forget.
In his second round at Oakmont, McIlroy hurled a club after he fired a wayward approach shot on the 12th.
Seven holes later and the Northern Irishman inadvertently smashed the tee box with his club.
McIlroy’s frustration on the 17th drew a shocked reaction from Sky Sports commentator Nick Dougherty.
“Oh wow,” Dougherty said. “Frustration once again boils over. He’s not himself right now.”
Sky SportsA tee box on the 17th came off second best against McIlroy’s club[/caption]The struggle has been clear to see for McIlroy following his Masters win, with the US Open bringing out a bad side to the world No.2.
He has finished T47 and missed the cut in his last two tournaments before only just making this cut this week.
But Scottie Scheffler has sympathised with his rival, standing up for him when discussing the drop-off in form.
The PGA Championship winner reflected on the impact of playing at and winning a major tournament can have on a player.
Scheffler admitted: “There’s definitely an aspect of having an achievement that you’ve thought about for a long time and then being able to achieve that goal.
“Winning a major championship in general just takes a lot out of you.
Scheffler has defended McIlroy and reflected on his own strugglesGetty“I think physically and mentally it’s a pretty taxing thing to do. It’s really hard to describe to somebody that hasn’t really lived through it.”
He continued: “I mean, when I woke up after the PGA Championship this year, I literally felt like I got hit by a bus. Like I felt terrible.
“And it’s just part of the adrenaline, part of competing for four days on a really difficult golf course, keeping your head in it for 72 holes, which is a long time, and just mentally it’s exhausting. Physically it’s a grind too.
“So if that’s how I felt after the PGA, I can only imagine how Rory felt after winning the career Grand Slam and it’s not easy to show up every week out here and play well. This is a very difficult sport. We play very difficult golf courses like this one.
“We’re all out here just trying to do our best, it’s a hard game and sometimes it can look easy and sometimes it can feel really difficult.
“But at the end of the day, we’re just showing up trying to do our best and then we go home.”
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