Rory McIlroy: "The most uncomfortable I've felt in the last 12 months was my press conference yesterday"

TORONTO, ONTARIO - JUNE 08: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland hits his first shot on the 3rd hole during the first round of the RBC Canadian Open at Oakdale Golf & Country Club on June 08, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario. Pic: Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images

While he is all too aware golf’s new normal is far from clear, Rory McIlroy was nonetheless relieved to get back to some semblance of normality after he shot a one-under-par 71 on the opening day of the RBC Canadian Open.

Out early in Toronto on Thursday, the defending champion was partnered with long-time Ryder Cup teammate Justin Rose. However the pair entered a pact as they strode down their first fairway to avoid discussing the bombshell merger between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabia-led LIV Golf, which turned the sport on its head Tuesday. Instead they would focus on playing the game — for a while at least.

“Rosie and I said 'all right, no chatting until lunch so that we can actually concentrate on what we're doing out there',” McIlroy said after his round. 

“We started to get in a conversation walking down the first and we're like, 'No, let's stop this. Let's just focus on our golf and we'll say what we want to say when we get inside'. So it was nice to play a round of golf and focus on something else for those five hours we were out there.” 

McIlroy had been the most vocal and consistent defender of the PGA Tour and its chief Jay Monahan since golf’s bitter battle lines were drawn with the dawn of Saudi Arabia’s disruption of the sport. Tuesday’s reversal, when Monahan joined forces with the state, was a stunning outcome and McIlroy addressed the implications in an emotive media appearance here on Wednesday.

When asked whether he felt more pressure on or off the course right now, McIlroy was quick with his answer.

“Off — the most uncomfortable I've felt in the last 12 months was my press conference yesterday,” said the world No.3 who insisted the PGA-Saudi alliance hadn’t shaken his faith in any altruistic ethos that surrounds the PGA — because that impression is false. 

“I wouldn't say I viewed the PGA Tour as through that altruism lens per se. I mean, at the end of the day, this is business and my job is playing golf. So the more that I can focus on that and focus on the birdies and the bogeys instead of the stuff that's happened in the board room I'll be much happier.” 

There were quite a few of both in the opening round as McIlroy started and finished with birdies but endured some struggles in between times. He was visibly frustrated with his driver, striking out at a tee block around the turn. A pair of ugly sixes on the card, bogeying the long 12th and 7th holes having started his round on the 10th, could have derailed the round entirely. However his putter rescued him more than once.

“If you miss fairways the rough is very, very thick. I hit a few, but I certainly hit a few loose shots and got myself out of position,” he said.

 “The golf course does start to get quite tricky from there. So I need to do a better job of just putting my ball in play off the tee. Then from there the golf course is still quite scorable.” 

The 71 left McIlroy in an early tie for 23rd with home favourite Corey Conners among a clutch of early leaders on five under.