Rory McIlroy’s seemingly joy-less golf since winning this year’s Masters has one golf legend concerned for his well being as he struggles at the US Open at Oakmont.
McIlroy made the cut in Pennsylvania, but the near impossible conditions have him entering Sunday at 10-over as his frustration has been made perfectly clear.
This culminated in a tense moment with the media after the third round when McIlroy indicated his ‘frustration with you guys’ – saying that he feels ‘the right to do whatever I want to do’ when it comes to availability with the press after rounds.
He wrapped that press conference by saying his goal for Sunday’s final round was to finish things ‘in four-and-a-half hours and get out of here.’
It’s a troubling sign for McIlroy, whose best finish since Augusta was a T7 at the Truist Championship while he missed a cut at last week’s Canadian Open.
Irish golfing legend Paul McGinley believes that there has to be something going on behind the scenes with McIlroy and took issue with his comments to the media.
Rory McIlroy’s tough week at Oakmont will end Sunday after the Irishman had a tense moment with the media – saying he’s ‘frustrated’ with them and thinks he can ‘do whatever I want’
Fellow Irish golf legend Paul McGinley believes that ‘something is eating at’ McIlroy
McIlroy hasn’t exactly gotten a boost from his Masters win – with inconsistent results since
‘I didn’t enjoy them. I don’t like to see that,’ McGinley said. ‘I think Rory’s better than that. Either not talking to the media or giving a press conference like that doesn’t serve him fairly or rightly for the person that he is.’
The former European Ryder Cup captain added, ‘He looks fed up to me. He looks like he’s had enough of everything. Whether it was the emotional release of everything that’s gone on in his career, I don’t know, but he’s not himself.
‘This is not normal. When he does that, because people look up to him, a conference like that with his body language and short language doesn’t serve him right.
‘I don’t like to see it. I’m disappointed for Rory that it’s come to that. Something is eating at him. He hasn’t let us know what it is, but there’s something not right.’
This is McIlroy’s fifth tournament since winning the Masters. After taking a week off after Augusta, he finished tied for 12th with playing partner Shane Lowry at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans.
After the Zurich, he took another week off before playing in the Truist and then the PGA Championship from Quail Hollow.
Following his T47 finish in Charlotte – which featured plenty of controversy about his driver – McIlroy took another week off before playing in Canada.
He is in the field for next week’s Travelers Championship in Connecticut – the final ‘signature event’ on the PGA Tour calendar.
