Why golf doesn't need to worry about fresh civil war breaking out

A new hot topic has suddenly cropped up in golf - thank God for that, some may say due to the narrative around ongoing talks between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf backers exhausting us - after two former Open champions have found themselves at the centre of an interesting debate about media relationships.

At the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Florida last month, world No 4 Collin Morikawa effectively said he doesn’t feel like he owes anyone anything after refusing to speak to reporters on the back of losing a three-shot lead at Bay Hill.

That decision has been the subject of lots of discussion in the game over the past few weeks, with Honorary Masters Starters Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson even offering their views and certainly being in a position to do so on the strength of their widespread dealings with the media all around the world over the years.

Shane Lowry shows his frustration during the third round at Augusta National Golf Club | Andrew Redington/Getty Images

Among the current top players, affable Irishman Shane Lowry is widely regarded as one of the most accommodating in terms of pre-tournament chat after-round quotes, but everyone has a tolerance level.

After finishing bogey-bogey, having been in with a chance of playing with Rory McIlroy in the final round, in Saturday’s penultimate circuit in the 89th Masters, Lowry let rip.

“No,” he replied to being asked if he’d found himself looking back at McIlroy in the group behind as his close friend started with a record-breaking six straight 3s here before sending another huge roar through the tall pines with an eagle-3 at the 18th to take a two-shot lead into the last day.

“No, I'm not going to stand here and talk about Rory for ten minutes. I'm trying to win the tournament, as well. I know that's what y'all want me to talk about, but I've just had a s*** finish, I've got a chance to win the Masters tomorrow, and I'm going to go hit some balls.”

What irked Lowry - understandably so in this correspondent’s view - is that it had been just the second question and, though one of McIlroy’s closest friends on and off the course - he didn’t feel he should be standing there talking about him.

“It's a lot of pressure out there. It's a tough environment,” he added before ending the interview by referring to Morikawa, the man who succeeded him as Open champion in 2021 after that edition at Royal St George’s had been delayed due to the Covid pandemic.

“We talk about Collin Morikawa a few weeks ago,” said Lowry. “I think we need time. I think I need a half an hour now to sit there and gather my thoughts. I can't be coming to talk to you guys straightaway. It shouldn't be happening. I don't agree with it.

“Tennis players have to talk to the media, but they have a half an hour or hour before they have to do it. I feel like we should have the same thing. That's how I feel. I'm probably going to say something stupid. I probably already have said something stupid because I'm p***** off right now. I'm just going to leave, okay?”

Collin Morikawa declined to speak to the media after losing a last-round lead in the Arnold Palmer Invitational | Getty Images

In hindsight, the Offaly man should probably have declined being asked to speak, as had been the case with McIlroy after a sloppy finish to his opening round on Thursday before hauling himself back into the tournament in spectacular fashion with back-to-back 66s.

Despite what some people might think, there is no obligation at The Masters or any of the other majors for that matter for players to speak to the media and, given that steam was coming out of his ears, it might have been best if the Ryder Cup player hadn’t stepped up to the podium.

In his pre-event press conference at Augusta National, meanwhile, Morikawa talked openly about the decision he’d taken at Bay Hill as victory in one of the PGA Tour’s Signature Events went instead to compatriot Russell Henley.

“I was in the moment,” he declared. “We talk about giving people space to be who they are, and at that time, it was for me to be who I was. And I didn’t want to be around anyone. I didn’t even want to be around my wife. Like I said ‘Hi’ to her after, we hugged, and I went straight to the locker room. In that aspect … there needs to be a balance and an ebb and flow between everything.”

Nicklaus, the game’s preeminent player with 18 majors, described his relationship with the media as “great” and reckoned he’d been “treated very fairly for 99 per cent of the time”. He also said he felt it should be an “obligation” for players to talk to the media.

Watson, also speaking on Thursday in the Augusta National Press Building, concurred. “I do remember one time at the New Orleans Open I was asked to go to the press room,” recalled the five-time Open champion. “It was getting dark and I had a bad round, and I said, ‘I have to go to the practice tee, but I'll be there after I hit balls’.

Honorary Starters Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson with Masters and Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley | Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

“There's a responsibility. I always liked what Jack had to say. He said, you have a job to do, and it's our responsibility to help you with your job. That's the way I feel about it.”

As for Player, he said: “Nobody likes to have a bad round, but that's part of life, ups and downs, and you should have to come to the press and answer questions. But I disagree with Jack, I don't think you always treat us fairly. I've seen a lot of things written that are not true and not fair.”

In the case of Lowry, the room hadn’t been read, so to speak, by the person who posed the question but, in fairness, the majority of those who cover golf on a regular basis know how to do that and, consequently, we don’t need to worry about a fresh civil war breaking out in the game. Phew!