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Rory McIlroy skipping the 2025 Memorial Tournament has come as a shock, taking into consideration the PGA Tour veteran's record. Recently, Jack Nicklaus went on to admit that he was not informed by McIlroy of his decision to skip the tournament. This has led Mcllroy to come under fire from a popular golf insider.
This is the Northern Irishman's first time since 2017, when he won't be teeing off at the Signature PGA Tour event. Although he didn't say anything, fans are speculating McIlroy's U.S. Open preparations to be the reason behind this move. However, Nicklaus' revelation at the press conference has put McIlroy at the receiving end of criticism from Dan Rapaport.
The popular golf insider slammed the five-time Major champion on his social media for not informing the legendary golfer about this decision. Rapaport also pointed to the fact that given McIlroy's relation with Nicklaus, he could've easily informed the latter over a 5-minute phone call. Zire golf shared his X post about Rory McIlroy:
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"Rory not calling Jack to tell him he’s not playing Memorial is not it. 5 mins would’ve gone a long way."
The post also shared a clip of the Memorial Tournament host's conversation with the press. No wonder, the sixth career grand slam winner is coming under fire from Rapaport, but Nicklaus didn't blame the 2025 Masters winner. Take a look at what he said about Rory McIlroy:
"...it surprised me. But, you know, guys have got schedules and got things they do... I haven't talked to him for him to tell me why or why not... that's just his call. I made a lot of calls that I had to make when I played to play or not play.... sometimes it wasn't as popular as people thought it was..."
"Sometimes you have to make those calls. I don't hold anything against Rory for that. He did what he likes to play... He likes to play the week before a U.S. Open... so that's what he's doing."
Last year, McIlroy ended the Memorial Tournament at T15, with a total score of 2 over par.
Rory McIlroy's record at the Memorial Tournament
Rory McIlroy's absence at the signature event this year marks his first Memorial Tournament absence since 2017. Till now, his record at Muirfield Village Golf Club displays strong performances amid a stellar lineup.
In 2010, Rory McIlroy became the youngest player to secure a top 10 finish at the prestigious Memorial Tournament. He finished the PGA Tour event by tying for the 10th place on the leaderboard. A memorable moment came in 2014, when McIlroy scored six back-to-back birdies on holes 8 to 13 in Round 1. This tied him for the tournament record of most consecutive 3s in one round.
In the same year, Rory McIlroy tied for the most consecutive double bogeys in a single round after carding double bogeys from holes 13 to 15 of Round 2. His best perfromance at the Memorial Tournament was back in 2016, when he ended up tying for the 4th place. Although he never won in the Jack Nicklaus-hosted contest, McIlroy has recorded consistent perfromances.
