Almost the entire elite of the PGA Tour will be competing in this week’s Memorial Tournament presented by Workday in Muirfield Village. However, one particularly prominent name is missing from the list of participants: Rory McIlroy has opted out of the signature event organized by Jack Nicklaus. The tournament host is surprised that McIlroy did not inform him in advance, but does not hold it against the Northern Irishman.
Jack Nicklaus: “It’s just his call”
Rory McIlroy recently realigned his tournament calendar: Less focus on the USA, but more starts at national Open tournaments around the globe. As he has committed to the Canadian Open next week, followed by the US Open, McIlroy is taking a break from the Memorial Tournament. It is already the third signature event of the season that he has skipped. Instead, he has played a number of tournaments with a rather weaker field of participants, giving them additional attention and is now making more international appearances.
Jack Nicklaus, host of the Memorial Tournament, self-confessed Rory fan and long-time supporter of the Northern Irishman, only found out about his withdrawal in the middle of last week. As he admitted at the pre-tournament press conference, he was a little caught off guard by the news: ““Yeah, it surprised me,” Nicklaus said. “But guys have got schedules and got things they do. And I haven’t talked to him for him to tell me why or why not. It’s just his call.”
Even though Nicklaus would have been delighted to welcome McIlroy to Muirfield Village, he was understanding: “I don’t hold anything against Rory for that. He did what he likes to play. I know he likes to play so many in a row. He likes to play the week before a U.S. Open. And so he, that’s what he’s doing. So, you know, I really don’t have a comment on it. It’s very difficult, very difficult. I mean, I’m a big Rory fan, I always have been. I’m sure that I will remain that way. I just, I was a little surprised, yes.”
