McIlroy has no time for absent moaners
RORY McILROY has little sympathy for European players unhappy about the PGA Tour restart. They include his Ryder Cup teammates Tommy Fleetwood, Franesco Molinari and Lee Westwood, who are missing out on world ranking points by staying put in Europe while the PGA Tour has this week moved on from Texas to South Carolina for the RBC Heritage.
As two weeks of quarantine are required in the US before the go-ahead to play, a number of leading European golfers have declined to cross the Atlantic and opted to stay at home.
‘It is wrong and unfair that ranking points are starting when players are playing on one continent,’ was Fleetwood’s grumble about the situation.
Last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge winner Daniel Berger, moved up from 107th to 31st to go past Westwood, ranked 33rd and another golfer who elected to stay at home.
But straight-talking McIlroy had little sympathy for the complaints of his fellow Europeans.
‘If I were in their shoes and I was asked to come over to the United States and shelter in place or quarantine for two weeks before these tournaments, I would have done that,’ stressed the Northern Irishman in South Carolina yesterday.
‘Because if you really care about your career and really care about moving forward, then you should be here.
‘We all have the means to rent a very nice house in a gated community in Florida. It’s not a hardship for two weeks to come over and quarantine.’
‘My caddy Harry (Diamond) came over and did it. He stayed in our guest house.
‘The two weeks flew by. I honestly don’t understand the guys complaining because there is a solution to it.
‘You can come over here and do what needs to be done.’
McIlroy didn’t back off when it was put to him that some European players have their kids’ welfare to consider, and that going back and forth across the Atlantic would have meant a 14-day quarantine going out and coming back.
‘I do appreciate the dilemma, I get that there are different variables involved, but you can bring your family with you. Again, we all have the means to do that,’ said McIlroy.
‘It might seem a little harsh but I don’t get that mindset, especially if you care about your career and want to advance.’
Meanwhile, McIlroy has been astonished by the length off the tee from beefed-up Bryson DeChambeau.
‘He hit a couple drives on Sunday that Harry and I just looked at each other, and we’re like, holy s**t, that was unbelievable,’ said McIlroy, who was paired with DeChambeau on Sunday at Colonial.
‘He hit one into the wind on 11. I hit a really good one and probably hit it like 315, 320. He must have flew my ball by 40 yards. He hit it like 370, 375 into the wind. It was crazy. It was nuts. It’s unbelievable.’
DeChambeau finished second in driving distance last week after gaining 20 pounds during quarantine that he said has translated into a ball speed of around 190 mph.
McIlroy fell away in the final round with a 74, during which commentator Nick Faldo observed that the four-time major champion didn’t seem to possess a ‘Plan B’ when things weren’t going smoothly.
‘Commentators are put in positions where they have to say something,’ said McIlroy when asked about the comment.
‘I respect Nick a lot. Nick’s been really good to me growing up, as a junior golfer and even into the professional level.
‘I’ve learned very quickly out here that you don’t take anything personally and you must move on,’ added McIlroy.
McIlroy tees off in the RBC Heritage this morning alongside Rickie Fowler and CT Pan.
Other Irishmen in the field include Open champion Shane Lowry and former US Open winner Graeme McDowell, who are out in the afternoon as part of a star-studded field.
Just like last week, the world’s top five players are all in attendance, as well as a strong British contingent that includes Tyrrell Hatton — playing for the first time since he won the last event before lockdown, the Arnold Palmer Invitational.