Rory McIlroy’s indifference is understandable after achieving his dream | Ewan Murray
A snapshot of Rory McIlroy’s new normal arrived the day before the US PGA Championship began,McIlroy’s practice round at Quail Hollow was watched by more than 50, inside the ropes,Journalists, content creators, wannabe content creators … everyone wanted not just a glimpse – you can get that from the bleachers – but a piece of golf’s latest grand slam man,McIlroy played a hole while being interviewed for the tournament’s main preview show,All soft, knock‑around stuff but inevitably a distraction.
It was difficult to shake the notion that Tiger Woods would never have tolerated such a scenario.It is also thankfully a truism that McIlroy is not Tiger Woods.The Northern Irishman’s chatty, warm personality endears him to so many.In a non-tribal sport people root for Rory, none more so than at Augusta National when more than a decade of frustration ended amid euphoric April scenes.Hardened men shed tears in a media centre, no less.
In Pittsburgh, you needn’t go far to encounter complaint at the long‑term decline of the Pirates.Even an iconic ballpark cannot pull in the masses any more.A few miles away at Oakmont, golf’s chattering classes have a gripe of their own: Rory McIlroy and a refusal to engage as before with the media.It is a preposterous discussion on one level, as if four minutes of quotes after a 75 somehow affects McIlroy’s legacy as much as Masters glory.Yet it is also an intriguing one, if only when assessing why the 36-year-old turned mute.
The simple answer is McIlroy is irritated, not unreasonably, after giving the very people now sniping probably the greatest story they will ever report.None of them were in New Orleans for McIlroy’s first post‑Masters appearance, where the five-time major winner was perfectly expansive.Within two days of McIlroy being pursued by all and sundry at Quail Hollow, news emerged that his driver had failed a routine conformance test.This was a clumsy situation, largely on account of a needlessly secretive process, but it was only McIlroy’s name that surfaced.It did via a partner broadcaster, which will have turned heads in Camp McIlroy.
Conspiracy theorists ignored the fact he was 175th on the PGA Tour’s driver accuracy table heading into the US PGA,There is a reason a seven-iron sits in his display cabinet in Augusta’s champions locker room,Headlines subsequently surrounded his failure to play the Memorial tournament in Ohio,The event had never appeared on his schedule in the first place,Far more significant than McIlroy not advertising his plans is that he deems big events on the PGA Tour worthy of skipping.
McIlroy has spoken about scaling down his playing commitments in the US; he will instead appear in India and Australia in 2025.The US‑obsessed PGA Tour should be concerned by its biggest draw’s dream of a properly global sport.Sportspeople often speak of regret having not enjoyed their highest highs.With Green Jacket in tow, McIlroy headed to England and Northern Ireland.He did the chatshow circuit in New York.
Presumably he found the Europa League final as tedious as the rest of us but he made sure he had a front-row seat in Bilbao.The resetting of goals, the hitting of more greens, can wait.Few people know what on earth it is like to wake up one morning knowing the only thing that has got you out of bed for the past 10 years is now on your CV.A McIlroy psychological adjustment from this position is as necessary as it may be difficult.He is cheesed off that he is not playing well – a matter only exaggerated at Oakmont’s brutal setup – when there is an abundance of rationale behind that.
He is out of competitive sync,“It’s really hard to describe to somebody that hasn’t really lived through it,” Scottie Scheffler said,“When I woke up after [winning] the PGA Championship this year, I literally felt like I got hit by a bus,I felt terrible,Mentally it is exhausting, physically it is a grind.
I can only imagine how Rory felt after winning the career grand slam.”After his third round at this US Open, he stood before the media when giving the impression he would rather be undergoing root canal treatment.He had skipped post‑round duties for the previous six rounds in a row, only one of which was sub‑70.Until the tournament obligates players to talk when requested – which is precisely what they should do – McIlroy can demonstrate his general annoyance in this way.Golf’s clickbait modern media world means he has no scope to speak on an off-the-record basis.
“I feel like I’ve earned the right to do whatever I want to do,” McIlroy said,His wording here was unusually crude, making him look entitled; which he is not,Even when trying to pay lip service, he cannot stop turning heads,His admission that he didn’t care whether he made the Oakmont cut was as brutally honest as it was striking,McIlroy has been irritated by elements of the media before.
Last summer, he changed his phone number after untimely and intrusive messages asking for his thoughts on losing by a shot to Bryson DeChambeau at the US Open.McIlroy has never really explained his famous “if you want to be in the circus, you have to put up with the clowns” comment of more than a decade ago but it appeared a pointed reference to press speculation.Despite these and other minor rumbles, McIlroy has been great for reporters; a constant source of news and unfailingly helpful towards those with whom he has built up proper relationships.The sporting public will remember his wondrous shot into the 15th at Augusta on Masters Sunday.They will recall a young man beating the turf on the 18th green while in floods of joyous tears.
The media has played a part in McIlroy’s profile and undoubtedly will do again,It is just that turning indifference from the golfer towards some of that group as a huge deal or grave error at this particular point in time feels needlessly self-aggrandising,
Tell us: what questions do you have about the impacts of smartphones on children?
A quarter of three- and four-year-olds in the UK now own a smartphone, but the impact of that is still being understood. From endless scrolling to constant notifications, smartphones expose children not just to their friends and classmates, but to a world of advertising, influencers, and algorithms. But how is all of this shaping how children see themselves, relate to others, and develop emotionally?In a video series on our It’s Complicated Youtube channel, we’re speaking to experts to explore how smartphones might be affecting children’s mental health, attention, self-esteem and relationships. Are social apps making kids more anxious? What happens when children are targeted by ads that shape their sense of identity from a young age? What do we know, and what don’t we yet understand, about growing up in a world where you’re always online?We want to hear from you. What have you always wondered about children and smartphones? Whether you’re a parent, teacher, or just someone curious about the long-term effects, fill out the form below to share your questions
Disney and Universal sue AI image creator Midjourney, alleging copyright infringement
Disney and Universal sued an artificial intelligence company on Wednesday, alleging copyright infringement. In their lawsuit, the entertainment giants called Midjourney’s popular AI-powered image generator a “bottomless pit of plagiarism” for its alleged reproductions of the studios’ best-known characters.The suit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles, claims Midjourney pirated the libraries of the two Hollywood studios, making and distributing without permission “innumerable” copies of their marquee characters such as Darth Vader from Star Wars, Elsa from Frozen, and the Minions from Despicable Me. Midjourney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The suit by Disney and Universal over images and video represents a new frontier in the raging legal wars over the copyright and the creation of generative artificial intelligence
‘They went too far’: Musk says he regrets some of his posts about Trump
Elon Musk has expressed contrition for some of his tweets about Donald Trump last week, in an apparent effort to retreat from an explosive falling out that has threatened to damage the Tesla boss’s business interests.Musk was by far the biggest donor to Trump’s presidential campaign, but tensions between the two erupted into public view last week and rapidly escalated, as the world’s richest man called for the president’s impeachment and mocked his connections to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in a series of posts.On Wednesday, Musk posted on X, the social network he owns: “I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far.”Musk’s public apology came after the tech billionaire privately called Trump on Monday night, the New York Times first reported, citing three people familiar with the matter
Meta to announce $15bn investment in bid to achieve computerised ‘superintelligence’
Meta is to announce a $15bn (£11bn) bid to achieve computerised “superintelligence”, according to multiple reports.The Silicon Valley race to dominate artificial intelligence is speeding up despite the patchy performance of many existing AI systems.Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s chief executive, is expected to announce the company will buy a 49% stake in Scale AI, a startup led by Alexandr Wang and co-founded by Lucy Guo, in a move described by one Silicon Valley analyst as the action of “a wartime CEO”.Superintelligence is described as a type of AI that can perform better than humans at all tasks. Currently AI cannot reach the same level as humans in all tasks, a state known as artificial general intelligence (AGI)
UK students and staff: tell us your experiences with AI at university
The use of ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence tools are becoming increasingly commonplace in UK higher education. A February survey of 1,000 students showed an “explosive increase” in use of generative AI in particular over the previous 12 months.With this in mind, we’d like to find out more about how AI is affecting students at university.How has AI impacted your studies? Have you used AI tools? Have you been suspected of using AI when you haven’t? What guidance have you been given by universities or tutors about using AI? Do you have any concerns?We’d also like to hear from university teaching staff – what is the impact of AI on students’ work? What are the challenges?You can tell us about your experiences with AI at university using this form.Please share your story if you are 18 or over, anonymously if you wish
As big tech grows more involved in Gaza, Muslim workers are wrestling with a spiritual crisis
Is working in big tech halal? Muslim workers are reckoning with the possibility that their jobs go against their religious obligationsBefore Ibtihal Aboussad was fired by Microsoft for protesting the company’s work with the Israeli military during a celebration of the firm’s 50th anniversary, she sent two emails.The first went to all of her colleagues. She appealed to their universal humanity and urged them to stand against Microsoft’s contracts to provide cloud computing software and artificial intelligence products to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).She sent the second to the “Muslims at Microsoft” email list. Its subject line read: “Muslims of Microsoft, Our Code Kills Palestinians
Markets stabilise as investors fear ‘adverse shock’ from higher oil prices – business live
UK petrol prices poised to rise as Israel-Iran conflict pushes up cost of oil
Liverpool is crypto capital of UK, survey finds
UK government rollout of Humphrey AI tool raises fears about reliance on big tech
Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s father found guilty of hitting his daughter but cleared of abusing Olympic champion
‘Gorgeous girl’: Ash Barty announces birth of daughter Jordan