In major sports, a month or even a week can feel like a lifetime, just ask Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy. On April 13th, the 36-year-old superstar finally ended his lengthy wait to win a Masters at his eleventh attempt and thereby became the sixth player to complete the Grand Slam.
A month later, at the USPGA Championship, he finished a lowly tied 47, three over par, and now it appears he won’t be taking part in the Memorial, a decision he made without seemingly informing the founder, and living golf legend, Jack Nicklaus.
McIlroy fans who fancy his chances of storming back to perform well at the Open Championship this year can look to place a bet at one of the best sports betting providers around here, and therefore help to make the most of any potential payout. His one previous victory in that esteemed tournament came in 2014, although he has finished in the top five on five other occasions, but he will nonetheless be among the favorites.
As for his decision to pull out of the Memorial, this comes off the back of his ‘non-conforming’ driver issue at the USPGA and is the first time he’s missed the event since 2017. On his surprise last-minute absence from the event, Nicklaus commented.
“I really don’t know why Rory didn’t talk to me.”
“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.”
When challenged to make a mountain out of a molehill, the ever classy Nicklaus refused to take the bait.
“I am not throwing Rory under the bus,”
“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.” Nicklas concluded.
The five-time Major champion (with the PGA Championship being the event he’s managed to secure twice), who waited eleven years to complete the handful, may well just be looking to take a break to steady the ship and felt that this was one event he could afford to let slide.
On not contacting Nicklaus, one imagines this was not a deliberate snub as there would be no positive reason for doing so, and it says alot about the veteran legend that he chose not to make a big deal out of a situation that is clearly no more than a storm in a teacup.
This is the third time in 2025 that McIlroy has missed a signature US PGA event, coming off the back of absences at The Sentry and the RBC Heritage, making this decision to skip the Memorial even less of a newsworthy event.