- McIlroy was ‘annoyed’ by leaked reports of his driver failing a legality test
- He snubbed several interviews with journalists and his behaviour was criticised
- Speaking at the Travelers Championship, McIlroy has clarified his position
Rory McIlroy has explained his frosty stance against journalists after skipping media duties and insisting he has earned the right to ‘do whatever I want’.
Masters champion McIlroy previously stressed that professional golfers are ‘well within our rights’ to snub interviews and openly admitted he was ‘annoyed’ by reports his driver had failed a legality test during the US PGA Championship.
He did not speak to reporters after each of his four rounds at the tournament, saying a combination of tiredness, poor play and his frustration with the leak around his equipment contributed to his decision, and his behaviour was criticised.
McIlroy finally broke his silence at the US Open and in his tense first exchange with journalists since winning the Masters and completing the sensational career Grand Slam, he declared: ‘I feel like I’ve earned the right to do whatever I want’.
The 36-year-old did, however, dodge interviews at Oakmont for the first two rounds.
In contrast, he was content to engage with the press after enjoying a strong start at the Travelers Championship, where he finished the opening round without a bogey.
Rory McIlroy has clarified his frosty stance toward journalists and his media duties
McIlroy said he had ‘earned the right to do whatever I want’ after winning the Masters
He softened his position while speaking with reporters during the Travelers Championship
‘I’m not a journalist. I don’t know,’ said McIlroy. ‘Report the birdies and bogeys, I guess. And obviously you have to – the storylines sort of write themselves for the most part. But yeah, I certainly see the need for it and see the need for the platform.
‘Like, I’ve never argued that. But I just think nowadays there’s so many different ways to consume sports and entertainment.
‘It certainly isn’t the only avenue to get your sports news and information.’
McIlroy has also warned players will continue to turn down media requests as long as it is not mandatory, stating the relationship is a ‘two-way street’.
‘From a responsibility standpoint, I understand, but if we all wanted to, we could all bypass you guys and we could just go on our phones and go on social media and we could talk about our round and do it our own way,’ said McIlroy.
‘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. But I’ve been beating this drum for a long time.
‘If they [golf officials] want to make it mandatory 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.’
