“Rory’s gift is finding any excuse under the sun” – Fans react to Rory McIlroy criticism of the Travelers Championship 2023 host TPC River Highlands

Rory McIlroy said the Travelers Championship wasn't challenging enough due to the easy playing conditions of the TPC River Highlands and he wasn't a fan of the course like this

McIlroy finished T7 at the Travelers Championship at 18-under and made 25 birdies in the four rounds. In fact, most of the golfers were on a birdie-making spree at TPC River Highlands. The event witnessed some of the lowest single-round scores this season.

During his media address following the fourth round on Sunday, June 25, McIlroy expressed his displeasure with the TPC River Highlands. Known for its relatively shorter length, TPC River Highlands spans across a playing field of 6,852 yards.

McIlroy said:

"I don't particularly like when a tournament is like this. Unfortunately technology has passed this course by, right? It sort of has made it obsolete, especially as soft as it has been with a little bit of rain that we had….

"So, again, like the conversations going back to, you know, limiting the golf ball and stuff like that, when we come to courses like this they just don't present the challenge that they used to."

Fans had mixed opinions on Rory's statement. While some fans agreed with the golfer's remarks, many felt his criticism of the course would have made more sense if he had won the event.

Here's a look at the few reactions on Twitter:

"Rory‘s gift is finding any excuse under the sun to NOT take personal responsibility for playing well enough to win. 👍"

"Comments would make a lot more sense if he won. The winning score was 1 shot better than 2009, and no one was ever talking about bringing back the ball then. Seems like he wants rid of the short courses where he will never be able to dominate"

"If the bloke won I’d think his comments had more validity, but he didn’t win so I guess the course wasn’t as easy for him as it was for others!"

"Gonna assume without looking that Keegan Bradley’s driving distance is just a tad shorter than Rory’s"

"It sounds like he needs to "just play better""

"Yeah, but everyone plays the same course. Play better, as someone once said."

"Some courses are birdie fests and others bogey fests. It’s good to have variety on the tour."

"Sadly, he is becoming more and more unlikeable. Whiny."

"These guys complain when the course is too hard, and they complain when the course is too easy. You can’t ever make these guys happy."

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How did Rory McIlroy perform at the Travelers Championship 2023?

Rory McIlroy plays his shot from the first tee during the final round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands

Rory McIlroy had a good outing at the Travelers Championship as he finished T7 at the TPC River Highlands on Sunday, June 25. Over the four days, he carded scores of 68, 64, 66, and 64 to aggregate at 18-under.

This is McIlroy's fifth straight top-10 finish on the PGA Tour and his eighth overall this season. He has had two runner-up finishes at Arnold Palmer Invitational and US Open.