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Scott Van Pelt 'Baffled' By What Rory McIlroy Is Doing

Originally posted on The Spun | By Andrew Gould | Last updated Jun 17, 2025 4:38 PM ET

Scott Van Pelt doesn't understand Rory McIlroy's recent behavior.

Golf fans may have anticipated a looser McIlroy after he achieved a long-eluded Masters victory in April. However, the 36-year-old has since shown frustration on the course and during combative interviews.

McIlroy tied for 19th at the U.S. Open, but most of the attention went to him tossing golf clubs and hitting tee markers at Oakmont Country Club. He defended his decision to avoid past press conferences while offering other short and icy answers over the weekend.

Van Pelt tried to process McIlroy's recent mood on his SVP Pod.

"I'm just baffled by what happened, like what’s going on," Van Pelt said. "People are going to speculate about his life. I will not do that. The man's life is his own business."

Van Pelt referenced McIlroy saying he "climbed my Everest" after winning the Masters and is now seeking his next challenge.

"You wonder, is it like, 'I don't have anything to chase. I don't have a hill to climb,'" Van Pelt continued. "But that doesn't, to me, explain just the fact that his resting posture seems pissed off at everyone. And I'm just baffled by it."

The SportsCenter host speculated that McIlroy, a longtime "leader" of the PGA Tour, hit a breaking point.

"Maybe he just reached the point where he's like, 'You know what? I’m f*****g done. I've done this forever, and now I feel like I've reached a point where I get to do whatever I want.' Saying the quiet part out loud like that makes people go, 'Oh, really? Well, that's an interesting way to frame it.' He just seems like he's mad at everything and everybody, and that's the part I don't quite get.”

McIlroy recently skipped Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament for the first time since 2017, and the golf icon said he never heard from McIlroy about the decision. Van Pelt called that dismissal "poor form" from someone who's typically shown "immaculate" judgment.

Van Pelt used wrestling parlance to describe McIlroy's "odd" change in demeanor.

"It just seems like he's suddenly become a different dude," Van Pelt opined. "It's like a heel turn, almost."

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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