Jack Nicklaus was a ‘little bit’ surprised by no heads up from Rory about missing Memorial, but insists he’s not upset.
As the host of the Memorial—now in its 50th year since its founding in 1976—Nicklaus was hesitant to address McIlroy’s absence, saying, “I’m not throwing Rory under the bus.” But after being repeatedly asked about it, he eventually shared more than his brief initial comments.
Apparently, McIlroy not only chose to miss the Memorial but also didn’t inform Nicklaus of his decision. Instead, he plans to compete in the RBC Canadian Open next week before heading to Oakmont, near Pittsburgh, for the U.S. Open.
The decision to bypass this week’s $20 million signature event was a stunner because it’s Nicklaus’ event. It was Nicklaus, the six-time Masters champion, who sat down with McIlroy prior to this year’s Masters and offered a bit of guidance on how to approach Augusta National Golf Club. McIlroy went on to win his first green jacket in a sudden-death playoff over Justin Rose. It seems like the least McIlroy should have done is reach out to Nicklaus as a courtesy to give him a heads up about missing the Memorial for the first time since 2017.
But that didn’t happen.
“I didn’t have a conversation with him, no,” Nicklaus admitted.
Did that surprise him? “A little bit,” he replied curtly.
It wasn’t like McIlroy didn’t know where to find Nicklaus if he couldn’t reach him by phone. McIlroy, like many tour players who live in the Jupiter, Fla., area, has a courtesy membership at Nicklaus’ The Bear’s Club. The fact that McIlroy decided not to play at Muirfield Village, where he has five top-10 finishes and nine in the top-25 in 13 appearances—but no wins—did catch Nicklaus off guard. But he understood the thought process.
“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 [on the decision],” Nicklaus, 85, said. “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 that’s what he’s doing. So, 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.”
It’s the third time this year McIlroy has skipped a signature event, following not playing in the season-opening Sentry and RBC Heritage the week after the Masters. It’s a bit strange, considering he was one of the leading proponents of the lucrative, limited-field series of tournaments on the PGA Tour.
Nicklaus declined to take anything other than the high road, even when he has not heard from one of golf’s biggest stars whom he also considers a friend.
““I know Rory has to plan his schedule based on what works best for him and what he needs to do, and I get that,” Nicklaus said. “I had to make similar decisions during my career, and sometimes that meant certain events didn’t make the cut—this year, that just happened to be us.”
“I’m not here to criticize Rory,” he added. “I really like him—he’s a good guy. He’s played some fantastic golf and has faced a lot along the way. He has to make his own choices. Could he have handled things differently? Maybe. But that’s okay. I could have made different choices in my time, too. So I’m not holding anything against him.”
