Not everyone has been a fan of Rory McIlroy at Royal Melbourne this week. Certainly not American Charlie Hoffman, who stepped up his comeback from injury with a rare appearance at the Australian Open (Hoffman missed the cut with 73-73).
Now, to put it mildly, Hoffman and McIlroy have had beef in the past.
Most of it stems from Hoffman sending a letter to his fellow PGA Tour members earlier this year criticising players who say they want to play less events but still compete in the DP World Tour’s Race To Dubai, the indoor simulator league TGL and The Showdown, a one-off event played before last Christmas which included world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
Guess who was the only player to feature in all the events Hoffman mentioned? McIlroy. You can understand if he felt it was a personal attack.
This week, Hoffman was asked by Golf Australia magazine about how to get more American players to Australia’s big events when the conversation turned to McIlroy, who has insisted he wants to play traditional and historic tournaments and test himself on courses like Royal Melbourne.
“Let’s get this straight — Rory is getting paid to be here,” Hoffman said.
“He’s not here just because it’s Royal Melbourne. He’s being paid, simple as that. The course is one of my favourites in the world, but if Rory wasn’t getting paid, he wouldn’t be here.”
Ouch!
Read related topics:Australian Open Tennis
