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Mark Schlabach, ESPN senior writer
ROCHESTER, NY — No one has been a more ardent supporter of the PGA Tour than Rory McIlroy during its ongoing battle with the LIV Golf League.
But it appears four-time major champion McIlroy is done talking about LIV Golf.
At a press conference ahead of this week’s event PGA Championship On Tuesday at Oak Hill Country Club, a reporter asked McIlroy to look into his crystal ball to project where men’s professional golf will be in three years.
“I don’t have a crystal ball,” McIlroy said.
“Don’t you want to speculate?” » the reporter asked McIlroy.
“No,” McIlroy said.
Later, another reporter asked McIlroy if it was going to be a conscious thing for him to avoid the LIV Golf-PGA Tour narrative going forward.
“Yeah,” McIlroy said.
After missing the cut at the Masters, a tournament McIlroy must win to complete his career Grand Slam, he I skipped the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, next week. This was the second time he missed a designated event this season; he also did not participate in the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii in January.
Under new PGA Tour guidelines, a player is only allowed to skip one designated event. Missing a second tournament results in the player losing 25% of their Player Impact Program bonus.
Before the Wells Fargo Championship two weeks ago, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan confirmed that McIlroy, who finished second to Tiger Woods in the PIP race last season, would lose $3 million from his $12 million bonus.
“When we committed to this timeline with the Player Impact program, we adjusted an opt-out,” Monahan said. “Then for any second refusal, you lose the 25%, unless there’s a medical issue. Based on that criteria, it’s actually pretty simple.”
It didn’t seem so simple to McIlroy when he was asked if he could skip the RBC Heritage show the day before Monahan met with reporters at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“I had my reasons for not playing in Hilton Head,” McIlroy said. “I mentioned it to Jay and asked him if he thought that was enough to justify… You know, look, again, I understood the consequences of this decision before I made it , so whatever happens, happens.”
On Tuesday, McIlroy, the third-ranked player in the world, spoke about trying to overcome the disappointment of not making the weekend at Augusta National Golf Club.
“Golf is golf, and it happens and you’re going to have bad days,” McIlroy said. “It’s not really the Augusta performance that’s hard to overcome, it’s the mental aspect and the deflation and trying to get your mind in the right place to start moving forward again, I guess.”
McIlroy finished tied for 47th at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow, where he had won three times previously. He hit balls into the water on three of his final five holes and finished tied, 19 shots behind the winner. Wyndham Clark.
“I think I’m close,” McIlroy said. “I think I’ve made good progress even since Quail Hollow a few weeks ago. I’m seeing better things, better tee lines, (and) definitely just better golf shots. A little more confident from there Where I am I’m going to shoot the ball and have a more consistent shot pattern.”
McIlroy would end a nearly eight-year drought without a major championship victory by winning at Oak Hill this week. He last won a major at the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.
McIlroy is a member of Oak Hill Country Club and his wife, Erica, grew up in Rochester.
“There will always be ups and downs in the game,” McIlroy said. “I mean, I have to go out there and just hit good golf shots, respect the golf course and play the course the right way. But no, there’s nothing drastic that I have to change. J ‘Have been working a bit “I’ve been on my swing the last few weeks trying to get things back in order. If I can execute the way I feel I know I can, then I should be fine. “
