‘I was p***ed off!’ Rory McIlroy hits out over illegal driver drama at PGA Championship

World No.2 Rory McIlroy did not hold back when addressing the media ahead of the Canadian Open…

Rory McIlroy drew a lot of criticism during the PGA Championship when he decided not to talk to reporters during the tournament.

It was inevitable then, that ahead of the Canadian Open, McIlroy’s first press conference since the second major ended with Scottie Scheffler hoisting the trophy, it was going to come up at some point.

It didn’t take long. And McIlroy was in no mood to mince his words.

Explaining his media no-shows for the first two days of what he called a “weird week” at Quail Hollow, McIlroy’s reasoning was that he “didn’t play well so wanted to go and practice” on Thursday, then on Friday they finished late he “wanted to go back and see Poppy before she went to bed”.

But during that second round, news broke that McIlroy had been forced to switch out his gamer driver ahead of the tournament as it had become non-conforming. Scheffler, in his winner’s press conference on the Sunday, would confirm that he suffered the same fate before going on to call for a change to the rules.

McIlroy confirmed that he skipped interviews following the third round for that reason. “I didn’t really want to speak on that,” he said, before adding: “I was supposed to tee off at 8.20 in the morning. I didn’t tee off until almost 2 in the afternoon. Another late finish, I was tired and wanted to go home.”

Then, after finishing in a tie for 47th, he “just wanted to get on the plane and go back to Florida”.

He continued: “I was a little pissed off because I knew that Scottie’s driver had failed on Monday, but my name was the one that was leaked. It was supposed to stay confidential. Two members of the media were the ones that leaked it.

“I didn’t want to get up there and say something that I regretted, because there’s a lot of people that I’m trying to protect – Scottie, I don’t want to mention his name, I’m trying to protect TaylorMade. I’m trying to protect the USGA, PGA of America, myself. I just didn’t want to get up there and say something that I regretted at the time.

“With Scottie’s stuff, that’s not my information to share. I knew that had happened, but that’s not on me to share that, and I felt that process is supposed to be kept confidential, and it wasn’t for whatever reason. That’s why I was pretty annoyed at that.”

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Speaking to the media is not a requirement of PGA Tour stars, and McIlroy has been vocal about players’ responsibilities in the past.

“Look, I understand, but if we all wanted to we could bypass you guys and we could just go on social media and we could talk about our round and do it our own way.

“We understand that that’s not ideal for you guys and there’s a bigger dynamic at play here, and I talk to the media a lot. I think there should be an understanding that this is a two-way street, and as much as we need to speak to you guys, we understand the benefit that comes from you being here and giving us the platform and everything else. So I understand that.

“But again, and I’ve been beating this drum for a long time, if they want to make it mandatory, that’s fine, but in our rules it says that it’s not, and until the day that that’s written into the regulations, you’re going to have guys skip from time to time, and that’s well within our rights.”

McIlroy will be looking for a third win at the RBC Canadian Open, having taken the title in 2019 and 2022, as he prepares for next week’s US Open at Oakmont.