McIlroy’s Miffed: Rory Rips USGA/R&A Distance Project

Rory McIlroy had just finished a run-of-the-mill press conference earlier in the week at the Phoenix Open and he couldn’t believe he wasn’t asked about the report from the USGA and R&A regarding conclusions from the distance report.

McIlroy was drawn back in for his thoughts and he unloaded like a double-barrel shotgun.

Rory slammed the report, calling it a “huge waste of time and a huge waste of money.”

McIlroy didn’t shop there.

“The authorities are looking at the game through such a tiny little lens, that what they’re trying to do is change something that pertains to 0.1% of the golfing community,” McIlroy said. “Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the people who play this game play for enjoyment, for entertainment. They don’t need to be told what ball or clubs to use.  We have to make the game as easy and approachable as possible for the majority of golfers. Honestly, I think this Distance Insights Report has been a huge waste of time and a huge waste of money, because that money that it’s cost to do this report could have been way better distributed to getting people into the game, introducing young kids to the game, introducing minorities to the game.”

He didn’t stop there.

“I heard Mike Davis say something about we’re trying to protect the game for the next hundred years – this isn’t how you do it,” McIlroy went on.  “This is so small and inconsequential compared to other things happening in the game. It’s the grassroots. It’s getting more people engaged in golf. That’s where they should be spending their money, not spending it on the Distance Insights Report.”

McIlroy did say he’s “all for” bifurcation, in which the professionals and amateurs would play by a different set of rules.

“If they want to try to make the game more difficult for us, or try to incorporate more skill to the game, yeah, I’d be all for that, because I think it only benefits the better player, which I feel like I am,” he said. “Maybe they said that in terms of local rules and maybe some sort of bifurcation, but we are such a tiny portion of golf. Golf is way bigger than the professional golf. We’re such a tiny portion of it. It’s the other stuff that really matters, and that’s the stuff they need to concentrate.”

It didn’t stop there.  He did another interview for television and added that the distance report “reeks of self-importance.  “Yes, they’re (USGA, R&A) the gatekeepers of the game,” he said. “Their job is to make sure that the game thrives in a hundred years’ time, but this isn’t the way to do it.”

Tell us how you really feel, Rory!

Volunteer Confesses To Stepping On McIlroy’s Golf Ball At Farmers:

McIlroy was caught up in the Patrick Reed controversy at The Farmers as Rory took relief from what appeared to be a plugged lie on the 18th hole.

McIlroy saw on video that his ball bounced and wondered if it was truly plugged.

“I just started to doubt myself a little bit, which is not like me,” he said. “But I was convinced that it was an embedded ball.”

Peace of mind for McIlroy came this past Monday morning. The PGA Tour informed McIlroy that they’d received an email from a volunteer who said that he’d accidentally stepped on McIlroy’s ball in the rough.

“The volunteer said something like, I’m so sorry that Rory is being dragged into this scenario, but I didn’t tell him that I actually stood on his ball to find it,” McIlroy said.

“I at least felt better about my actions knowing I did the right thing, that I did take relief for a ball that was embedded or stepped on,” he added. “So it was nice that that came to light, because I was questioning myself on Sunday a little bit. It’s funny how these things all work out at the end.”