It is a special week on the PGA Tour. The world’s best golfers have descended upon Muirfield Village in Ohio for the Memorial Tournament. Well, most of the world’s best are playing. Rory McIlroy turned heads when he decided to skip the tournament for the first time in nine years.
Nicklaus acknowledged even he was surprised to hear of McIlroy’s decision earlier this week. Although, he made it clear it was his choice to make and he does not hold it against him.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan took it a step further defending the Northern Irishman.
“The beauty of our model is that our players have the ability to select their schedule,” Monahan said.
“What Rory McIlroy has done, I think he’s played in this tournament every year since 2017. And you look at the tournaments that he’s supported. I don’t have any concern, because you look at this on balance over time, his support of our tournaments and our partners is extraordinary.”
Indeed, McIlroy has been a mainstay at nearly every significant tournament on tour for more than a decade. In the post-Tiger Woods era of domination, the five-time major champion took up the mantle of being the face of the PGA Tour.
That includes initially digging his heels in against LIV Golf upon its emergence in 2022.
Earlier this year, McIlroy completed the grand slam, winning the 2025 Masters Tournament in dramatic fashion. Since that time, he has made three starts; namely the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the Truist Championship (formerly Wells Fargo) and the PLAYERS Championship.
The last of which was his worst performance of the year. He finished tied for 47th after barely making the cut. During the PLAYERS, it was revealed that McIlroy’s driver failed USGA random testing. That forced the 36-year-old to switch out heads before teeing off that week.
Interestingly, McIlroy then opted not to speak to the media following all four rounds. That alone brought its own set of criticism from fans.
Nicklaus, when addressing the topic on Tuesday, said that while he cannot speak for McIlroy, he always felt it prudent to speak to the media.
Rory McIlroy is slated to play in next week’s RBC Canadian Open. He has always preferred playing the week before a major, and with the U.S. Open at Oakmont on tap in two weeks, maybe that is why he made the decision to sit out The Memorial.
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