Is Rory McIlroy Turning Into The Heel?

When LIV Golf started, one of the drawbacks golf fans lamented was that some of the PGA Tour’s villains had left.

They were the guys most people didn’t like—but they brought a certain entertainment element to the Tour.

I always go back to Patrick Reed winning the Farmers Insurance Open in 2021. It wasn’t that exciting an event given he won by five strokes and cruised down the stretch. But, as Reed often does, he inspired a rules controversy and had the golf world buzzing with takes.

The Tour has, in some ways, missed guys like Reed stirring the pot. Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter spent their careers being disliked by many but they made people talk. Bryson DeChambeau was very unlikeable until his image made a 180-degree turn due to his YouTube golf presence. A guy like Cam Smith wasn’t necessarily a villain but he could play the role of spoiler.

A lot of fans didn’t (or still don’t) like these players. They inspired feelings of annoyance or even vitriol.

When they went up against one of the “good guys” like Rory McIlroy, fans could easily pick a side and get behind someone like McIlroy.

This all leads me into a question I’ve been contemplating: Has McIlroy started shifting to the other side of that equation?

Has he finished his hero arc?

Is he, in fact, becoming more of a villain?

The mixed emotions of McIlroy fandom

McIlroy has long been among my absolute favorite golfers. In the non-Tiger division, he was right at the top.

The reasons were varied. For one, greatness is attractive. He had four major titles before the age of 25. We wanted to see how far he could take his profile. I am right around the same age as him so witnessing his brilliance at a young age was interesting to me.

Beyond that, McIlroy has seemed like a genuinely good dude. Honest. Vulnerable. Mature. Well read. Able to change opinions with new information although sometimes to his detriment. Willing to give thoughtful answers in press conferences. Interested in life beyond the golf course.

And very human—full of the same doubts and life challenges that many of us have but in a much more public setting.

There is a reason he has been celebrated in the media for many years. McIlroy could have been like Woods, staying guarded and defensive throughout the prime of his career. Instead, he opened up on a recurring basis, took on Tour leadership responsibilities and gave a huge chunk of himself to growing golf. Had he not done that, he probably could have shut out the world and won more tournaments.

But Rory has always given the impression that he cares more about his humanity than his golfing profile.

That foundation has set the stage for so much fan emotion in McIlroy’s career. It came in waves. The first was the excitement of him bursting onto the scene as an exuberant kid. Then there was the 10-year major drought where he clearly battled a lot of mental demons. On a physical level, he transformed into even more of a complete golfer than in his dominant 2011-2014 window—it just didn’t translate into major victories.

With every excruciating close call that didn’t go his way, fans wanted him to win even more.

Amidst that was his outspoken role in the Tour-LIV controversy. He took it on himself to be a spokesman which was admirable to stand up for what he thought was right.

But somewhere along the way, I got McIlroy fatigue. That fatigue turned into frustration. And, in 2025, that frustration has turned into resentment.

Of course, it was exhilarating to see him win the Masters, especially given the historic element of that accomplishment. When you saw his relief and all the emotion coming out, you understood how much that green jacket meant to him. Golf fans felt good for him.

At the same time, a lot of those positive feelings have been washed away by other parts of 2025.

His suddenly combative relationship with media is bizarre to me. He turned the driver testing incident—which was a huge nothing burger in the grand scheme of things—into a weird storm where he blamed the media for leaking the story. Media members don’t perform driver testing. Someone who did the testing told the media. Blame that person, Rory. Like it or not, the media’s job is to report the news. If the Masters champ has to switch his driver on the eve of a major, that is news.

McIlroy is now on his soap box, talking about how skipping media sessions is his right (and it is).

It’s just funny that he only skips when he plays poorly.

I don’t have an issue with players skipping media on occasion. It’s not a requirement for them to be there. However, McIlroy has decided to “punish” the media (and his fans) for no legitimate reason and it’s making him seem whiny.

McIlroy was at the front of the line when talking about how the Tour had to evolve and become more accessible to fans. He led the charge with the signature event model.

Yet, he is skipping signature events like the Memorial. He’s becoming less accessible to fans.

His inability to face the music for a few minutes after a mediocre round has lost him a lot of credibility in my book.

I get the argument that McIlroy has given more of himself to the media than just about any other player. He said he has the right to do whatever he wants because of that. It’s a fair statement.

As fans, we also have the right do whatever we want. And that includes feeling more annoyed towards a player who seems to be perpetually pissy unless things break his way.

It feels like he is going through something emotionally

I’m not sure whether it is the post-Masters energy sap or something in his personal life but McIlroy has looked completely out of sorts lately.

Even if you go back to the Players Championship where he acted childish, it seemed like something was off with him, despite his ability to play phenomenal golf.

And then at the U.S. Open, he was smashing tee markers and throwing clubs. He gave a press conference (after seven major rounds without one) where he was basically a petulant toddler throwing a tantrum. I’ve never seen him with that kind of body language.

Showing passion on the course is great but I think smashing tee markers and throwing clubs is way beneath professional golfers and should carry consequences. Same goes for Wyndham Clark, who did something much worse by trashing a locker at Oakmont and then giving a weak apology.

Could you picture Scottie Scheffler acting like that? Not a chance.

It was something about the U.S. Open that made me question whether McIlroy can really be labeled with some of the adjectives I mentioned. Is he mature or vulnerable to where he seems comfortable in his own skin? Much deeper than the average Tour player?

I’m not sure. Maybe, but that statement seems more tenuous now.

Instead, the labels “sore loser” and “volatile” come to mind.

An athlete being in that category is totally fine to me but McIlroy has been heralded as someone who is self-actualized and more intelligent than your average golfer. And he’s leaned into that persona heavily at times. It was his choice to be regularly transparent with media and build this image.

If you are going to do that and then also act like a child, some people will find you grating and exhausting.

And, to be honest, all of this has made me tired of him. I’m not rooting against him with a passion but I would like a break from him. Give me some non-Rory time.

It feels like he needs some time off, too.

If he shows up the Open Championship with the same attitude he had at the U.S. Open, the frustration is going to grow deeper.

I wouldn’t call him a heel yet but it feels like there is more pushback among fans. And it’s definitely possible he continues on this trajectory to where most golf fans are sick of him.

Like I mentioned in the beginning of the article, golf needs more players like this that inspire emotion one way or another. For most of McIlroy’s career, he’s been the hero. Is that changing?

What do you think? Is McIlroy turning into a heel or is this an overreaction?

Top Photo Caption: Rory McIlroy has had an eventful 2025. (GETTY IMAGES/Alex Goodlett)