‘The PGA was a bit of a weird week’: Rory McIlroy defends media debacle at Quail Hollow

Rory McIlroy has addressed the backlash he faced for not speaking to the media during the 2025 PGA Championship. In a recent interview, McIlroy explained the reasons behind his silence, calling "the PGA a bit of a weird week.”

“I didn’t play well the first day, so I wanted to go practice... The driver news broke, I didn’t really want to speak on that,” McIlroy said (via Kyle Porter on X). “Saturday, I was supposed to tee off at 8.20 in the morning. I didn’t tee off until almost 2 o’clock in the afternoon… I was just tired, wanted to go home. And then Sunday, I just wanted to get on the plane and go back to Florida.”

He also expressed frustration over leaked equipment testing results:

“I was a little pissed off because… I knew that Scotty's driver had failed on Monday, but my name was the one that was leaked. It was supposed to stay confidential.”

McIlroy said he stayed quiet to avoid saying something he might regret, aiming to protect others involved.