Getty Image / Alex Slitz
It is U.S. Open week and all eyes in the golf world are fixed on Pinehurst #2, one of the most magnificent tracks in all of golf.
In his Tuesday press conference, Rory McIlroy‘s comments about last week at Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament held at the Muirfield Village Golf Club started off innocent enough. Rory was simply commenting about how Pinehurst will offer players chances to play different types of shots. But Rory McIlroy’s comments could easily be perceived as a swipe at Jack Nicklaus’ tournament.
Here is what Rory McIlroy had to say (via NoLayingUp) with full video of the comments below:
“Going back to last week at Memorial. People hit it offline or people (miss) a green, you’re basically only seeing players hit one shot. There’s only one option. And that turns into it being somewhat one dimensional, and honestly not very exciting. And I think a course like this demands a different skillset. And also some creativity. And I think that’ll be on display this week.
I’ve already seen some videos online of people maybe trying fairway woods, or having lob wedges, or putters… Ya know even if you get lucky and have a half decent lie in that wire grass/sandy area… being able to hit a recovery shot. I think for the viewer at home that’s more exciting than seeing guys hack out of 4 inch rough all the time. Hopefully that comes to fruition and it’s an exciting golf tournament.”
Video of the moment:
Rory is a standup guy and he would never intend to take a swipe at Jack Nicklaus or the Golden Bear’s tournament on purpose. But golf fans on X, formerly Twitter, were quick to point out how this would be interpreted by Jack Nicklaus.
One person joked in the replies saying “Rors, Jack Nicklaus on line 1.” Another questioned “The Golden Bear is going to eat our Rory, isn’t he?” There were a meme or two:
— S H A N K S I N B I O (@ShanksInBio) June 11, 2024
The fact of the matter is Rory is right with his comments. And that doesn’t devalue the Memorial Tournament where PGA players were challenged. Scottie won at just -8 as the course beat up players. Scheffler shot a +2 round of 74 on Sunday. Challenging golf is good golf to watch. But when a course only allows for one type of shot in recovery, that’s not particularly fun for the golfers and doesn’t allow creativity to shine through.
Normally I’d ask for everyone’s U.S. Open predictions but it’s Scottie Scheffler‘s tournament to lose. So, who is going to finish 2nd?