Rory McIlroy 'sick' of easy European Tour courses

Lee Jarvis
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays a shot during Day four of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship (Credit: Getty Images)
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays a shot during Day four of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship (Credit: Getty Images)

Rory McIlroy has expressed his frustration at the level of difficulty of European Tour courses, saying he is ‘sick of shooting 15-under-par and finishing 30th.’

McIlroy finished tied 26th on 15-under-par at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, explaining afterwards that PGA Tour events will be his priority next season.

The Northern Irishman said: “I’m sort of honestly sick of coming back over to the European Tour and shooting 15 under par and finishing 30th.

“I don’t think the courses are set up hard enough. There are no penalties for bad shots. It’s tough when you come back and it’s like that.

“I don’t feel like good golf is regarded as well as it could be. I shot 13-under and finished 30th again.

“It happened at the Scottish Open. I shot 13-under and finished 30th. It’s not a good test. I think if the European Tour wants to put forth a really good product, the golf courses and setups need to be tougher.”

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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland on the 17th hole during Day four of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. (Credit: Getty Images)
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland on the 17th hole during Day four of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. (Credit: Getty Images)

The 30-year-old has no problem with snubbing European Tour events for courses he prefers next year, regardless of public opinion. McIlroy won $15 million with a FedEx Cup win last month on the PGA Tour.

He added: “I’m getting stick for not playing more in Europe, but I’m turning down millions of dollars by not playing Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia because I want to do the right thing.

“I want to play on the courses I want to play at. I don’t think I should get stick for that because I feel like I’m doing the right thing.”

McIlroy also sited travel as a reason for his choice of golf events.

He said: “I’ve done it for 12 years. I want to have easy flights and not have to go across eight, nine time zones and have to get acclimatised.”

Next up for the golfer is the The Zozo Championship in Japan in October.

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