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Rory McIlroy Faces Backlash After Controversial Decision Following Poor U.S. Open Start

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Zachary Neel | Last updated Jun 12, 2025 7:23 PM ET

Rory McIlroy was off to a hot start on Thursday morning in the opening round of the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club, going out in two-under par through his opening nine holes.

This was impressive to see, considering there were many doubters of McIlroy's game coming into this tournament, despite his completion of the Career Grand Slam with his win at the Masters Tournament earlier this spring. Many of the doubts stemmed from last week at the RBC Canadian Open, where McIlroy missed the cut after shooting nine over in the first two rounds.

So when Rory turned to the back nine on Thursday and fell apart, shooting six-over par to close with a four-over 74, not many were surprised.

Unfortunately, not many were surprised by Rory's actions after the round, either, where he chose to skip his media availability, both in the press room and with the pool reporter, following the disappointing finish.

PGA Tour players are not obligated to speak to media members at any point, but it is expected of players at the top of the game, especially someone with as much gravitas as McIlroy, who has been one of the biggest spokespersons of the PGA Tour over the last few years.

Some golf fans were frustrated by this decision.

Rory McIlroy played poorly today and guess what?

He refused to talk to the media. Again.

Dude…

I am a Rory fan, but what is up with this soft streak he is on?

It makes it difficult to root for him.#USOPEN2025 #Golf #PGATour
— Matt Williams (@MattWi77iams) June 12, 2025

McIlroy's week is far from over, and with a solid round on Friday he can get right back into the mix. We saw during the first nine holes of his tournament that his solid form is somewhere in there, but it retreated after he made the turn and starting coming into the clubhouse.

Friday offers another opportunity to get things back on the right track.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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