Masters champion Rory McIlroy was among the top players to struggle on the opening day of the US Open before again refusing to speak to the media about his round
Paul McGinley won’t have approved of Rory McIlroy’s latest refusal to engage with the media. The Masters champion endured a disappointing start to his US Open campaign at Oakmont.
Starting on the back nine, McIlroy looked in good form initially, birdying the 11th and 12th as he reached the turn at two under. However, his day took a turn for the worse with a disastrous back nine, which saw him play holes one to nine in 41 shots, a run that featured four bogeys and a double bogey.
His round of 74 left him four over par and in need of an outstanding comeback to win the year’s third major. After the round, McIlroy declined to speak to the media, having also snubbed reporters during last month’s PGA Championship after it emerged that his driver had failed a legality test prior to the tournament.
The decision won’t have gone down well with Irish golf legend McGinley, who has criticised players who duck media duties, with Collin Morikawa and Shane Lowry doing the same at times this season.
The former Ryder Cup-winning captain said on Sky Sports during the PGA Championship: “My view is very clear. I said it about Collin Morikawa and I’ll say it about other players. I’ll say it about Rory McIlroy, I don’t like it when they don’t do interviews.
“I don’t think it’s good for the game, I don’t think it’s good for their persona. Rory is very popular and you run the risk of undoing a lot of the popularity when you don’t speak, whatever his reasons were.”
After the event, McIlroy opened up about his media relations at a press conference before the Canadian Open. He said: “From a responsibility standpoint, I understand, but if we all wanted to, we could all bypass you guys [the media] and we could just go on this [our phones] and go on social media and we could talk about our round and do it our own way.
“We understand that’s not ideal for you guys, and there’s a bigger dynamic at play here. I talk to the media a lot, and I think there should be an understanding that this is a two-way street. We understand the benefit that comes from you being here and giving us the platform.
“But I’ve been beating this drum for a long time. If they [golf officials] want to make it mandatory [to speak to the media] that’s fine, but in our rules it says it’s not and until the day when it’s maybe written into regulations, you’re going to have guys skip from time to time and that’s well within our rights.”
Ahead of the second day at Oakmont, McIlroy finds himself eight shots behind first-round leader JJ Spaun, who managed to conquer the notoriously difficult course with a flawless 66.
Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler also struggled, finishing three over and two over, respectively.
McIlroy’s playing partners, Justin Rose and Shane Lowry, had even worse days. Rose completed his round with a seven-over 77, while Lowry was a further two shots back, with both facing the possibility of missing the cut.
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