In his youth, Rory McIlroy exhibited a notable degree of cockiness and brashness. An instance from his Home Internationals amateur tournament, where he wrote “loser” on his golf ball to make a point, comes to mind. Although he has now matured out of that attitude, he still retains a part of that personality, as that is a big part of his mantra.

“Be yourself,” McIlroy told Boston Common Golf. “Try to be as authentic as possible and understand that not everyone’s going to like you or love you, and that’s okay. I feel like I’ve earned the right to do whatever I want to do.”

The Northern Irishman has always been himself. Even in his amateur days, he knew he was here to win, and he was not shy about it. Ahead of one of the amateur championships he was competing in, when asked about the whereabouts of a pair of pink trousers he had purchased, he told his rivals he was saving them for the final round “because I want to win in them.” He then grew up, and flashes of his authentic self kept surfacing.

One of them was at the 2023 Ryder Cup when he got into an argument with Joe LaCava. The golfer thought the caddie’s mock celebration lasted too long and lingered too close to his putting line, and it set off a series of verbal clashes between the two sides that ended with McIlroy arguing with Jim “Bones” Mackay in the parking lot. Now, it’s been over two years since that, and the Northern Irishman’s opinion about being himself has only gotten stronger.

For instance, McIlroy has made it clear that he doesn’t feel obligated anymore to meet everyone’s expectations, especially with media engagement and public perception. This opinion, for many, appeared entitled at the PGA Championship at Oakmont as he refused to engage with the media altogether on all days of competition. The golfer was visibly frustrated and even destroyed a tee marker, flinging his club down the fairway. When asked why he has been avoiding reporters, he blamed the journalists for leaking news about his driver being non-conforming.

For critics, this was a golden chance to blame him.

Paul McGinely, one of McIlroy’s longtime supporters, described him as “exhausted.” As per him, McIlroy’s behavior was “out of character,” and something was certainly bothering him. Because these comments came from McGinely, they landed harder. At the same time, off the course too, McIlroy has been quite vocal.

For a long time, McIlroy was one of the staunchest LIV critics. From calling players “duplicitous” to declaring that he’d “rather retire” than join LIV, he positioned himself as the PGA Tour’s core loyalist. But the last year or so saw his authoritative stance softening. This led Lee Westwood to take a jibe at McIlroy’s constantly changing behavior.

McIlroy’s quote becomes rather complicated as it shows growth. The growth of disengaging with the critics; something he proved at Bethpage by canceling out all the noise, no matter how personal they got, or even physical. Eventually, he acted as a talisman, which was expected of him, and led Europe to an away win.

But while this might seem like growth, it also acts like a paradox.

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Why is Criticism Against Rory McIlroy Growing?

Speaking in the Not Another Golf Show from GolfWRX, host Gianni Magliocco clearly laid out what has been on everyone’s mind for a while.

“I feel in general, McIlroy gets the odd heckle comment more than most.”

The answer to that remains debatable. McIlroy’s constant scrutiny could be because of his outspoken comments on golf. Many expect golfers to stay quiet and play their games. But because McIlroy often talks a lot, that too in depth, it makes him vulnerable to such comments. There can be another reason too.

“I guess because he’s such a good player too, he attracts some of that, I don’t know. It’s just strange, because you don’t see Scheffler getting anything,” says Magliocco.

Comparing Scottie Scheffler to Rory McIlroy with respect to sharing their thoughts on golf politics is like comparing apples and oranges, as Scheffler is someone who often keeps to himself and focuses on his game.

Whether you like McIlroy or not, he really doesn’t care! All that he cares for now is to grow golf, and play a global schedule.