“Quite shocked” - Nick Faldo questions Rory McIlroy's decision to give live interviews at the Masters
Rory McIlroy got mic'd up and gave live interviews during his second round at the Masters. The golfer, along with fellow PGA Tour star Max Homa, spoke to the channel about the game while playing on the 14th hole at the Augusta National on Thursday.
Following this, golf legend Nick Faldo has now come out to question McIlroy's decision to give live interviews. Faldo said that he was “shocked” to see the World No. 2 speaking into the earphones while playing. Explaining his reaction, the 65-year-old English golfer said that the Masters required more attention in the game.
Slamming the move on Twitter, Nick Faldo wrote, as quoted by Yahoo Sports:
“I was quite shocked that Rory and Max put those AirPod things in and did a running commentary. This is The Masters and we’ve been talking so much about how Rory said he was physically and technically in the right place — all of it was mental.”
He added:
“I bet Bob Rotella (McIlroy’s sports psychologist) didn’t say, ‘Oh tell the world what you’re doing’. I don’t honestly get that.”
Every interview I’ve done this week is all about giving 100% concentration to yourself and the task at hand, so why? twitter.com/golfmonthly/st…
He went on to emphasize his point:
“This golf course, this tournament, is the most wonderful one because it’s just you and your caddie inside the ropes — there’s no still photographers allowed in — so you just do your own thing.
"And I would have thought for Rory to get off to a better start than he did just do your own thing, get in your own little world and don’t tell anybody what you’re doing. Keep it a secret.”
It is pertinent to note that Faldo’s point was eventually proven right as McIlroy crashed out of the Masters on Day 2. The Irishman ended his second round to be tied for 61st before play was suspended after trees fell near the 17th tee. He failed to make the cut.
The 33-year-old won plenty of praise from fans for his willingness to do the live interview but received flak from pundits and other pros for the same.
Rory McIlroy defended his live interview at the Masters
Rory McIlroy eventually came out to defend the move. The golfer, who did similar live interviews during the recent WGC Match Play, dubbed it a 'a cool thing to do'. Despite the lackluster second round, the golfer seemed happy with the idea of playing with ‘AirPods on.’
McIlroy said:
“I did it in Austin and didn’t feel like it took me out of my rhythm in any way or made me think about things too much. So it’s nice to provide the audience at home a little bit more insight into what’s going on out there.”
Interestingly, McIlroy made headlines on Friday as he avoided the press after crashing out of the Masters.