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Rory McIlroy turned down the media after his disappointing first round at the Masters 2025 on Thursday. The first major tournament of the 2025 season is being held at Augusta National Golf in Augusta, Georgia, from March 10 to 13.
The World No.2 player started strong in the first round. He scored three birdies on the 3rd, 8th and 9th holes on the front nine. He scored another birdie on the 13th hole on the back nine and had a score of 4-under. However, he faltered with not one, but two double bogeys on the par-5 15th and the par-4 17th, to finish at even-par 72 for the first round.
McIlroy is currently tied for 27th on the leaderboard. He chose not to engage with the media following his round and headed directly to the practice range. In the pre-tournament press conference, Rory McIlroy had said that PGA Tour players are not obligated to speak to the press post-round, unlike athletes in other sports.
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"Every other athlete, whether it be in the NBA, NFL, they're obligated to speak to you guys after a game. We're not. Whether that's something that the PGA TOUR looks to in terms of putting that into their rules and regulations, but as long as that's not the case and we have that option to opt out whenever we want, expect guys to do that from time to time," he said. (via ASAP Sports)
McIlroy had earlier skipped media duties after his loss at the 2024 US Open. On that occasion, he went down by one shot to Bryson DeChambeau.
The Northern Irishman is seven shots behind leader Justin Rose, who posted a score of 7-under 65 in the first round with eight birdies against a bogey.
Rory McIlroy came to Augusta after a strong start in the 2025 season. He won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and also emerged victorious at the Players Championship. He's one of the favorites to win the Masters 2025 and will look for a turnaround in the second round.
Tiger Woods' ex-coach analyses Rory McIlroy's error-filled 15th hole in the first round at Augusta
Tiger Woods' ex-coach, Hank Haney, analysed a poor hole played by Rory McIlroy during the first round of the 2025 Masters. The four-time major champion faltered with a double bogey on the 15th hole, derailing his strong start.
After being 4-under through 14th, McIlroy's second shot on 15th landed over the green. However, McIlroy's chip caused the ball to roll back into the water hazard. Haney took to X and shared a clip of McIlroy's chip and his "3 Keys to Golf" that players must avoid to contend at Augusta.
"3 Keys to Golf are eliminating penalty shots, two chips and 3 putts. Usually to win at Augusta the total of those 3 needs to be 2 or less. Not good when you are at that number on one hole," he wrote.
Rory McIlroy will tee off at 9:58 AM ET / 02:58 BST in the second round at Augusta alongside Ludvig Aberg and Akshay Bhatia.
