Rory McIlroy faced the media for the first time since the build up to The Masters last month where he comfortably missed the cut after being one of the tournament favorites.
The four-time Major winner wasn’t able to complete the elusive career grand slam and the mental strain of missing out at Augusta led to him missing the following week’s RBC Heritage, and taking a $3m fine for doing so.
He arrives at Oak Hill this week again as one of the betting favorites but is slightly under the radar after only recording a T47 finish in his one start since The Masters.
So, what did he have to say?
SIDE STEPPING LIV
I guess that answers that then. pic.twitter.com/QMbFOJ3g0MMay 16, 2023
McIlroy was only asked two LIV Golf questions by the on-site press and it was very clear that he had no intentions of speaking about the Saudi-backed start-up.
Asked what the game might look like in three years if he had a crystal ball, he simply replied: “I don’t have a crystal ball.” To a follow up on whether he could speculate, his answer was again brief – “No.”
He was later asked whether it will be conscious decision to sidestep LIV talk. His answer, “Yeah.”
Having voiced his views week-after-week last year as the PGA Tour’s de-facto spokesperson, it seems he’s planning to keep his thoughts to himself for the foreseeable.
The Pain Of Augusta
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After shooting rounds of 72-77 (+5) to miss the cut at Augusta, McIlroy spoke of the “deflation” he felt that ultimately led to him missing the RBC Heritage and playing just one tournament since.
“Yeah, golf is golf, and it happens and you’re going to have bad days,” he explained. “It wasn’t really the performance of Augusta that’s hard to get over, it’s just more the mental aspect and the deflation of it and sort of trying to get your mind in the right place to start going forward again, I guess.”
BOMB AND GAUGE TACTIC?
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When describing the course setup this week, McIlroy likened it to Winged Foot in 2020 when Bryson DeChambeau won the US Open.
DeChambeau, the biggest hitter in the game, essentially ‘bombed’ his driver as far as possible and ‘gauged’ his wedges out onto the green and putted the lights out. McIlroy hinted that that tactic could be a possibility this week with the greens at Oak Hill open at the front and awaiting balls to be ran up.
“I look at a golf course like this and I think it’s quite similar to what we faced at Winged Foot in 2020 in terms of long golf course: long rough,…
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