Rory McIlroy took to social media on Monday morning to clarify the remarks he made at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Sunday, after he called out the European Tour for making the set-up of their golf courses too easy.
His original comments came after he finished on 15-under-par (tied for 26th place), and had said that was “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.”
“It happened at The Scottish Open, as well, Renaissance, I finished 13-, 14-under and finished 30th again,” he had said. “It’s not a good test.”
“I understand voicing my concerns about golf course set ups in Europe to the media, at a pro am event on benign links courses wasn’t the right place to do it, or, the right people to talk to about it,” he wrote in a statement posted to instagram.
“I was venting yesterday but I can assure you it came from the right place.”
He then went on to explain that he feels it’s not just a problem in Europe, but worldwide, and that golf courses on Tour are no longer presenting enough of a challenge for strategy or shot making.
“Strategy, course management and shot making are important aspects of tournament golf that are being slowly taken out of the game at the top level, not just in Europe but worldwide,” he continued.
“I would personally like to see tougher set ups in Europe because it will produce better, more complete young players in the future and that can only be a good thing for the game and our Ryder Cup chances going forward”
