World No.2 Rory McIlroy Walking Back on His Comments Regarding Course Setup at PGA Championship Infuriates Fans: “Dude Is a Joke”

After Round 2 on Friday, Rory McIlroy had claimed that a bunched leaderboard was a sign of not great setup.

World No.2 Rory McIlroy Walking Back on His Comments Regarding Course Setup at PGA Championship Infuriates Fans: “Dude Is a Joke”

Rory McIlroy (Image via Imago)

Rory McIlroy once again had a lot to say regarding the course setup at the PGA Championship. A day after he called out the setup at the Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania, he walked back on his comments.

The World No.2 entered the competition this week as one of the favorites following his Masters Tournament triumph in April. He did not have the best of opening rounds as he struggled and finished with a 4-over score.

On Friday, he bounced back with a bogey-free 67. The 6-time major champion was able to navigate the tough conditions of the course and surge back in contention.

Following the second round, McIlroy echoed some thoughts of Scottie Scheffler. The World No.1 had called out the “absurd” pin locations on the course and expressed that he had never seen something like this in his PGA Tour career.

In the press conference, a reporter brought up Scheffler’s response regarding the pin locations and asked McIlroy for his opinion. The Northern Irish golfer pointed out the bunched leaderboard and claimed it was a sign of a not great setup.

On the moving day, McIlroy made another push. With 6 birdies and 2 bogeys, he carded a 4-under 66 score in the third round.

While speaking with the reporters on Saturday, he walked back on his comments. The 2-time PGA Championship winner claimed that there was a “really good balance” of tough pins.

I mean, I said yesterday I feel like they’ve used a lot of the hard ones up. And today yeah, I think they’ve like they can still tuck them away. … Yeah, I think it’s been a good balance, in fairness. Like if I’m reflecting on the last three days, I think there’s been a really good balance of tough pins and then pins that you can get at a little bit more.

Rory McIlroy told the reporters

Heading into the final round, McIlroy is T7 alongside Xander Schauffele, Patrick Reed, and Maverick McNealy at 3-under par for the tournament. These stars are 3 strokes behind solo leader Alex Smalley, who is 6-under par.

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Social media reacts to Rory McIlroy’s comments regarding course setup at PGA Championship

Rory McIlroy had a great outing on Saturday as he fired a 4-under par round to jump back into contention at the PGA Championship. However, he found himself under some backlash as he walked back on his previous comments regarding the course setup.

Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy (Image via X/@DPWorldTour)

Many users on X called him out for his change of tone regarding the course after his impressive round. One user wrote, “Dude is a joke,” while reacting to this.

Check out that and some more reactions regarding McIlroy’s comments below:

For the final round, McIlroy will be paired with Xander Schauffele and tee off at 2:05 p.m. local time. A victory on Sunday would make him just the 7th player to win this major event 3 times in his career.

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Rory McIlroy does not want others to pass by him in major counts

On Sunday, Rory McIlroy will be aiming for another major title. Before the final round, the golfer admitted that he does not want others to pass by him in major counts.

Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy (Image via Instagram/@pgatour)

Last month, McIlroy joined an exclusive club by going back-to-back at the Masters Tournament. He became just the 4th player after Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo, and Jack Nicklaus to win two successive green jackets.

That triumph saw his major count rise to 6. Until the 2025 Masters Tournament, he had been stuck at 4 major titles for more than a decade.

At the moment, he is tied with Faldo, Lee Trevino, and Phil Mickelson for the most majors at 7th. A victory on Sunday would mark his 7th major title and see him join Harry Vardon, Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, and Arnold Palmer in the 7-time major champion club.

I’m 37, do I have 35 or 40 more realistic chances of winning these majors? I don’t want to let them pass me by, I want to give it my all.

Rory McIlroy told BBC Sport Northern Ireland

For him to win from this position, he will need another strong performance and a little slip from someone up at the top. Only time will tell who comes out on top on Sunday and raises the Wanamaker Trophy.

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