Rory McIlroy is being slammed for skipping Jack Nicklaus’ annual tournament without giving the Golden Bear any forewarning. But while many golf fans are taking aim at McIlory, Nicklaus isn’t among them.
‘I am not throwing Rory under the bus,’ the 85-year-old Nicklaus told reporters at the 50th Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio. ‘I like Rory too much. He’s a good kid. He’s played some great golf. He’s had a lot of things that have happened to him. He’s got to make his own call on things.
‘Could he have done them differently? Probably. But that’s all right. I could probably have done some of mine differently, too.
‘I’m not complaining about Rory.’
But just because he’s OK with McIlroy’s decision, doesn’t mean Nicklaus understands it. As he told reporters, he never actually got an explanation.
‘I really don’t know why Rory didn’t talk to me,’ Nicklaus said. ‘I can’t answer that question. There’s nothing I can answer. I know he has to make a schedule that works for him and what he has to do. And I understand, because I had to do the same thing.’
Jack Nicklaus isn’t lining up to be the next to criticize Rory McIlroy over his decision
McIlroy captured an elusive first Green Jacket this year with a memorable performance at Augusta – and his win actually followed a meeting with Nicklaus earlier in the week
‘We just weren’t included this year.’
The event was founded by the legendary Nicklaus in 1976, with the 18-time major winner still hosting the event to this day. But for the first time since 2017, recent Masters winner McIlroy will be missing the tournament – and fans were not happy when they learned the news.
‘Disgusting. Jack’s tournament is a prestigious tournament,’ one wrote on X.
‘Poor decision. Jack has been good to Rory,’ another added.
‘So he’s going to miss three signature events? Wasn’t there supposed to be a punishment for this?’ a third asked.
McIlroy captured an elusive first Green Jacket this year with a memorable performance at Augusta – and his win actually followed a meeting with Nicklaus earlier in the week.
Nicklaus revealed at Augusta that McIlroy sought advice from him on how to succeed at Augusta, and that the pair had lunch together before he ultimately held off Justin Rose in dramatic fashion.
McIlroy held his nerve to beat Justin Rose in a Masters play-off to finally win at Augusta
His performances since that triumph have been up and down.
He was far off the top at the PGA Championship earlier this month, tying for 47th place at three-over, while he finished tied-12th and seventh at the Zurich Classic and Truist Championship respectively.
While he also skipped out on the RBC Heritage and the Corales Puntacana Championship after his Masters win, some fans pointed out McIlroy’s busy upcoming schedule, which includes the Canadian Open next week.
Still, his snub of the Memorial will mean he’s now missed three signature events on the PGA Tour this season – though there is no longer any penalty for doing so.
McIlroy was previously slapped with a roughly $3million fine for missing the RBC Heritage and the Sentry Tournament of Champions in 2023.
Amid the PGA’s battle for eyeballs with LIV Golf, such events have been given increased purses to encourage player participation.
Nonetheless, McIlroy won’t be in Dublin, Ohio for the Memorial while many of his top-ranked peers compete there.
Two-time US Open winner Bryson DeChambeau will also miss the event.
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