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Rory McIlroy was due to speak to the media on Tuesday ahead of this week’s US Open Championship.

That now looks like it WON’T be happening.

The four-time major champion has reportedly cancelled his scheduled pre-tournament press conference.

The move comes just a week after the PGA Tour announced its intention to partner with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) in a surprise move that promises to bring an end to a year of division in men’s professional golf.

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McIlroy had been due to meet assembled reporters at Los Angeles Country Club at 9am local time on Tuesday.

However, his name is now absent from the list of press conferences provided by tournament organisers.

At the time of publishing, no explanation had been provided for the change to McIlroy’s plans.

The 2011 US Open champ has been one of the most outspoken critics of the PIF-funded LIV Golf League and admitted ahead of last week’s RBC Canadian Open that the PGA Tour’s sudden alliance with the Saudis had left him feeling like a “sacrificial lamb”.

He added that his press conference in Canada last Wednesday, just 24 hours after the news broke was “the most uncomfortable I’ve felt in the last 12 months”.

“At the end of the day, this is business and my job is playing golf,” he said after his opening round on Thursday. “The more that I can focus on that and focus on the birdies and the bogeys instead of the stuff that’s happened in the board room, I’ll be much happier.”

McIlroy comes into this week with somewhat uneven form so far in 2023.

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Since winning the Dubai Desert Classic in January, the world No.3 has struggled to find his best form on a consistent basis.

Highlights include a tie for second in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and a tie for seventh in the US PGA Championship. Lowlights include missing the cut in both The PLAYERS Championship and The Masters.

He has finished T7 and T9 in his last two starts respectively – the Memorial Tournament and Canadian Open – but suffered disappointing Sundays in each one whilst in contention to win.

He needs to win either the US Open this week or The Open next month to avoid registering a ninth consecutive calendar year without a major victory.