Rory McIlroy breaks silence on PGA Championship controversy

Rory McIlroy has broken his silence on controversy that followed his driver at last month’s PGA Championship.

The Northern Irishman’s TaylorMade Qi10 was deemed non-conforming at Quail Hollow, just weeks after he won the Masters and completed the career grand slam.

Despite being confidential, the result was leaked by a member of the media, building on McIlroy’s frustrations as he struggled to contend.

Scottie Scheffler was also forced to replace his driver ahead of the opening round, but the world No.1’s equipment mishap didn’t reach the public.

Speaking ahead of this week’s RBC Canadian Open, McIlroy conceded that he was “p****d off”.

“Look, the PGA was a bit of a weird week,” he said. “I didn’t play well the first day, so I wanted to go practise, so that was fine.

“Second day we finished late. I wanted to go back and see Poppy before she went to bed. The driver news broke. I didn’t really want to speak on that.

• Report: PGA Tour star in shock split with caddie

• Former amateur star makes LIV Golf feelings clear

“Saturday I was supposed to tee off at 8:20 in the morning. I didn’t tee off until almost 2:00 in the afternoon, another late finish, was just tired, wanted to go home.

“Then Sunday, I just wanted to get on the plane and go back to Florida. The driver stuff, I was a little p****d 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.

Again, I didn’t want to get up there and say something that I regretted, either, because I’m trying to protect Scottie. 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.”

McIlroy continued: “With Scottie’s stuff, that’s not my information to share. I knew that 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.”

When pressed on players’ responsibility to speak after a round, the five-time major champ defended his fellow pros.

McIlroy insists that despite being a ‘two-way street’, players have no media obligations.

“From a responsibility standpoint, look, I understand, but if we all wanted to, we could all bypass you guys and we could just go on this and we could go on social media and we could talk about our round and do it our own way.”

“We understand that’s not ideal for you guys and there’s a bigger dynamic at play here, and I talk to you guys, 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. I understand that.

• LIV Golf confirms signing of new player

• Robert MacIntyre ‘wishes’ modern game would do one thing

“But again, 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 maybe written into the regulations, you’re going to have guys skip from time to time, and that’s well within our rights.”

McIlroy, meanwhile, addressed his desire to chase more records after finally getting over the line at Augusta National in April.

He ended an 11-year major drought by slipping into the Green Jacket and became one of only six players to win all four majors.

“I don’t know if I’m chasing anything,” he said. “I would certainly say that the last few weeks I’ve had a couple weeks off, and going and grinding on the range for three or four hours every day is maybe a little tougher than it used to be.

“You have this event in your life that you’ve worked towards, and it happens, sometimes it’s hard to find the motivation to get back on the horse and go again.

“I think the last two weeks have been good for me just as a reset, just to sort of figure out where I’m at in my own head, what I want to do, where I want to play. Yeah, reset some goals.”

John Turnbull A graduate of the University of Stirling, John joined the bunkered team in 2023 as a Content Producer, with a responsibility for covering all breaking news, tour news, grassroots content and much more besides. A keen golfer, he plays the majority of his golf at Falkirk Tryst Golf Club. Top of his 'bucket list' is a round of Pebble Beach... ideally in the company of Gareth Bale.