Rory McIlroy insists he has snubbed media duties at recent majors due to “frustration” with the manner of the reporting on him.
McIlroy admitted he was left irritated at the way the media reported that his driver failed a ‘non-conforming’ test during the PGA Championship last month.
And after skipping all four days at Quail Hollow, McIlroy partly continued that trend at the Canadian Open before opting against speaking during the first and second rounds at Oakmont for the US Open, where he barely made the cut at +6 on Friday.
“It’s more a frustration with you guys,” McIlroy explained after carding a round of 74 to leave him at +10 overall for the major and well out of contention to win his sixth major.
“I’ve been totally available for the last few years. [The driver] thing was a part of it. But at Augusta I skipped you guys on Thursday, so it’s not out of the ordinary. I’ve done it before; I’m just doing it a little more often.
“I feel like I’ve earned the right to do whatever I want to do [when it comes to speaking].
“I’m not daring them (the PGA Tour) to do anything. I hope they don’t change it because it’s a nice luxury to have.
“But I’m just pointing out the fact that we have the ability to do it.”
McIlroy also made a shocking admission that he would have been happy to miss the cut after suffering more Oakmont punishment at the US Open.
The Northern Irishman scrambled two birdies in the final four holes during Friday’s second round to book his weekend stay but revealed he wouldn’t have minded going home early.
That feeling was even more prevalent after another bruising round on ‘moving day’, where the only direction he was heading was down.
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Trouble was never far away as he made six bogeys in a round of 74 and when his par-putt kissed the lips of the hole from three and a half feet and went out on the 14th, he was seen quietly mouthing an expletive, presumably telling the Oakmont course exactly where to go.
He sits near the foot of the leaderboard at 10 over par and is counting down the hours until he can go home.
Asked what his expectations were for Sunday’s final round, he said: “Hopefully a round in under four and a half hours and get out of here.
“It’s funny, it’s much easier being on the cut line when you don’t really care if you’re here for the weekend or not.
“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 actually feel like I’ve played OK this week. It’s a golf course where the tiniest mistakes get penalised a lot and that’s sort of how it’s felt this week.
“The name of the game this week is staying patient and try to do a good job of it out there, but it’s one of those golf courses that you can lose patience on pretty quickly.”
PA contributed to this report
