Walking off the 18th green, Morikawa was so heated that he didn\u2019t even want to talk to his wife\u2014let alone the media. He signed a few autographs and shipped up to Ponte Vedra Beach for the ensuing Players Championship.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Two days later, in his pre-tournament press conference at TPC Sawgrass, Morikawa was asked why he didn\u2019t answer questions on Sunday at Bay Hill and said he \u201cdoesn\u2019t owe anyone anything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A decision that initially flew under the radar had turned into a firestorm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Mr. Palmer was there, he\u2019d have grabbed [Morikawa], I\u2019m telling you, it wouldn\u2019t have been pretty, it would\u2019ve been public, too,\u201d six-time Tour winner Rocco Mediate, 62, said on his SiriusXM radio show. \u201cYou don\u2019t need to act that way. The Tour does not need that garbage at all \u2026 man up, talk about it and be done. [Morikawa] said, \u2018I don\u2019t owe anybody anything.\u2019 Actually, he does. The people that are watching. The reporters that bust their a– to write stories about our sorry a–es.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under the microscope, Morikawa unpromptedly doubled down on his stance<\/a> three days later. And that wouldn\u2019t be his last media squabble during the season. At June\u2019s Rocket Classic, the 28-year-old called out a Golfweek reporter in his Wednesday media availability, feeling that a quote in which Morikawa said he didn\u2019t want to comment on a caddie change during the pro-am<\/a> and to ask him later in the press center was printed to make Morikawa \u201csound bad.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Collin Morikawa had a tense exchange with a reporter during his press conference at the Rocket Classic regarding an article written about his caddie vacancy. pic.twitter.com\/yjKPpGpC9w<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) June 25, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Perhaps unintentionally, Morikawa had become a primary antagonist against the golf media<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n His actions weren\u2019t anything new, though. The longstanding relationship between athletes and the press has always been complex.<\/p>\n The two go hand-in-hand. Sports need publicity to garner interest, and journalists provide coverage to help keep their publications afloat. The sportswriting profession began in the late 1800s, primarily covering horse racing and boxing, before becoming a vital part of the newspaper industry early in the 20th century. Golf, meanwhile, made its way into the mainstream in 1913 after 20-year-old amateur Francis Ouimet captured the U.S. Open, putting a golf story on the front page of The New York Times for the first time.\u00a0<\/p>\n Over a century later, Morikawa wasn\u2019t the only one who expressed frustration with the media this year. There was Shane Lowry<\/a>, Tyrrell Hatton<\/a> and even, on a lighter scale, Scottie Scheffler<\/a>. But the most notable instance besides Morikawa was Rory McIlroy.\u00a0<\/p>\n A month removed from completing the career Grand Slam at the Masters, the 36-year-old opted not to speak after each round of the PGA Championship<\/a>, stemming from a leak by SiriusXM that his driver was ruled nonconforming ahead of the tournament. When asked about his silence a month later, McIlroy said, \u201cI feel like I\u2019ve earned the right to do whatever I want to do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Arguably, nobody in the sport over the last decade has provided more quotes than McIlroy. And he\u2019s shown a tendency not to mince his words, whether it\u2019s chastising Muirfield Golf Club for barring women, criticizing Donald Trump\u2019s handling of COVID-19 or leading the charge against Saudi Arabia\u2019s \u201csportswashing\u201d attempts, before and after the inception of LIV Golf. Conversely, he also head-scratchingly dodged reporters after a brutal loss at the 2024 U.S. Open.\u00a0<\/p>\n This all raises the question: what is the role of the media?<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not a journalist. I don\u2019t know,\u201d McIlroy said when asked that at the Travelers Championship in June. \u201cReport the birdies and bogeys, I guess? And obviously, you have to\u2014the storylines sort of write themselves for the most part. But yeah, I certainly see the need for it and see the need for the platform. Like I\u2019ve never argued that. But I just think nowadays, there\u2019s so many different ways to consume sports and entertainment. It certainly isn\u2019t the only avenue to get your sports news and information.\u201d<\/p>\n That last part of his answer might be the root of the discord.\u00a0<\/p>\n Not everyone has disdain towards the press. In fact, most players don\u2019t. Just ask Ben Griffin.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important for us as PGA Tour players because it showcases ourselves and our brands and our images,\u201d Griffin told Sports Illustrated at the Travelers, \u201cand how us players choose to use the media is up to us, whether we think it\u2019s advantageous or not. I\u2019m super pro-media. I love social media. I love doing everything.\u201d<\/p>\n Sure, it helps that Griffin, 29, has won twice to become a top-20 golfer in the world, but his sincerity also helped mold him into a much bigger name. He hasn\u2019t shied away from sharing his story about quitting golf and becoming a mortgage loan officer, before giving his career one last shot and earning his way on Tour. Griffin\u2019s been an open book beyond that, too, revealing to reporters he overdosed on creatine<\/a> mid-round, responding to a subtle stray<\/a> from Jack Nicklaus, explaining in detail his vision issues that cause him to wear sunglasses when playing and allowing the PGA Tour\u2019s social media team full access from the time he leaves his hotel to teeing off<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, at each Tour stop, kids holler at him for autographs. Griffin didn\u2019t completely need the media to boost his popularity.\u00a0<\/p>\n Max Homa, before he was a multiple-time winner, became one of golf\u2019s most affable social media personalities en route to becoming a fan favorite. Michael Kim and Joel Dahmen have followed a similar trajectory, although Dahmen also used Netflix\u2019s Full Swing to his advantage. Plus, LIV\u2019s Bryson DeChambeau, who, in 2021, boycotted the media after remarks he made about the COVID-19 vaccine<\/a>, has reshaped his image through golf videos on YouTube.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Yet, there can still be a special feeling when a player walks into a room of scribes eager to ask questions.<\/p>\n \u201cGrowing up, it was always a dream to play on the PGA Tour and to have an interview afterwards,\u201d said 28-year-old Englishman Harry Hall, the world No. 49. \u201cIt means that you played great. I think the best in the world, they obviously have an interview afterwards if they play poorly. I never looked at it like that. I only have an interview because I played great today. You\u2019re not interviewing me because I just shot an 80, because I\u2019m not one of the best in the world, maybe it would be a little bit different.<\/p>\n \u201cI always grew up looking forward to playing great golf, playing in front of people, and if I had an interview, it was probably because I was in a great mindset and I just played great. So, yeah, I can\u2019t speak for those guys that are having a little bit of trouble, but I don\u2019t understand it.\u201d<\/p>\n Rory McIlroy just have an emotive press conference explaining why he has been skipping media;<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s more a frustration with you guys.\u201d <\/p>\n This is worth a watch.<\/p>\n pic.twitter.com\/vyGRsyOpfq<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) June 14, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Someone like McIlroy doesn\u2019t have to be paraded around after a disappointing round. With no penalty for sidestepping questions, he can simply post his thoughts on social media, as he did following the 2024 U.S. Open, and shape his own narrative. But the people expecting him in the press center afterward will likely be sour, losing a key perspective for their stories.\u00a0<\/p>\n And the situation can escalate, though the solution is just standing at a microphone for two minutes.<\/p>\n \u201cRory is one of my very favorite people in the sport for a lot of different reasons,\u201d ESPN\u2019s Scott Van Pelt said on SportsCenter following the 2024 U.S. Open. \u201cOne, he\u2019s a thinker and he answers things thoughtfully. He\u2019s also a great champion. And today, understandably, a bitter pill, a chance to end this major list drought, and it slips away as it did.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think about this, Phil Mickelson, the [2006] U.S. Open, hit off a beer tent on the 72nd hole at Winged Foot to lose with a double and he said afterward, \u2018I\u2019m such an idiot.\u2019 How it got away [from McIlroy] on this Sunday and the fact that he walked away without speaking about it will both be remembered.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n How taxing can media obligations be?\u00a0<\/p>\n Let\u2019s say, hypothetically, Scheffler is tied for the RBC Heritage lead in the third round through 16 holes. Then, he cards a double bogey on No. 17 and ends up two strokes behind entering Sunday. Afterward, everyone wants to hear what happened from the world No. 1 himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n So shortly after exiting the 18th green, Scheffler does a television interview with CBS\u2019s Amanda Balionis. After that, it\u2019s another one with Golf Channel\u2019s Todd Lewis for the network\u2019s post-round airing of\u00a0 Golf Central. Then, a third series of questions from SiriusXM\u2019s PGA Tour Radio. Finally, he\u2019ll walk over to the flash area, mostly filled with writers, but open to anyone with a press credential. Nowadays, it\u2019s an eclectic bunch: reporters, PGA Tour media officials, podcasters and social media producers, all with a different agenda to get the quote they need. Not to mention, Scheffler was probably asked\u2014and answered\u2014the same or similar questions repeatedly.\u00a0<\/p>\n Following nearly 30 minute of talking, Scheffler is free. He can go to the locker room, see his family, sign autographs, eat, whatever.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s a drastically different procedure from golf\u2019s previous eras.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s just so much being asked of these guys to do,\u201d Andy North, the 1978 and \u201885 U.S. Open champion who is now an ESPN golf analyst, told SI, \u201cand eventually they\u2019re gonna get mad.\u201d<\/p>\n North, 75, recalls how in his playing days, there were roughly 15 regular golf reporters from major publications, such as The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and Atlanta Journal-Constitution, covering the Tour each week. They dominated the questions and built strong relationships with Tour pros. Outside of the majors, players were seldom called into the media center for a pre-tournament interview session, except for the Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer-esque stars. Most just met the media after a round.\u00a0<\/p>\n Frankly, that isn\u2019t far off from how things are currently. However, the same can\u2019t be said for the television production.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOn the TV side of it, I think that\u2019s where it\u2019s so much different,\u201d North says.<\/p>\n The golf media landscape has changed drastically over time. \/ Stan Badz\/Getty Images (2001)<\/p>\n Years ago, most tournaments were only televised for a couple of hours on ABC, CBS or NBC, during the third and fourth rounds, compared to today, where there\u2019s nearly 12 hours of daily coverage across different platforms for each event. Heck, the Masters didn\u2019t even begin broadcasting weekday rounds until 1982.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNow, there are 500 cameras around with some guy with a microphone every time you turn around,\u201d North says, \u201cso I can understand why the guys get a little bit upset because you\u2019re not doing two interviews a week. The top players are doing 20.\u201d<\/p>\n North added: \u201cI know from our standpoint, doing TV, there are times that you\u2019re the company putting it on and you\u2019re gonna interview a guy after he finishes his round and some guy jumps up there with a camera and jumps in there and [they] shouldn\u2019t be part of this.\u201d<\/p>\n In a bygone era, the continuity with who was asking the questions at every event made players comfortable. That\u2019s not always the case anymore, which can leave some trepidation.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou knew that if you played well, you would go in and they\u2019d ask you 10 questions and leave,\u201d North says. \u201cAnd once you got in there, it was the 10 guys\u2014the questions came from the guys who were there all the time, so they were good questions. They were real questions. They weren\u2019t just some of the fluff stuff that we get now.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I think on top of all that, there\u2019s no social media, which that\u2019s a huge part of all this.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, there were still tense moments. Greg Norman stormed out of the interview area podium because of a \u201cchoke\u201d question after Bob Tway holed out on the 72nd hole to snatch the 1987 PGA Championship from him (Norman held the 54-hole lead in each major that year, converting only one into a win). Had that happened 30 years later, the clip of him lambasting a reporter would have likely gone viral.\u00a0<\/p>\n Instead, it was a mere headline in newspapers.\u00a0<\/p>\n The women\u2019s game isn\u2019t free of media turbulence either.\u00a0<\/p>\n And in a time when women\u2019s sports are booming, there\u2019s a feeling the LPGA hasn\u2019t reached its full potential.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou had an incredible year by Nelly Korda [in 2024] that maybe wasn\u2019t fully taken advantage of,\u201d NBC golf play-by-play voice Dan Hicks said earlier this year, \u201cand with the Caitlin Clarks and the WNBA and the rest of the world of women\u2019s sports I think exploding, this is the time for women\u2019s golf to make a move, and you\u2019ve got to be creative.\u201d<\/p>\n New LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler, who took over earlier this year<\/a>, has made increasing the tour\u2019s exposure a priority. To achieve that goal, the circuit parted ways with its chief marketing, communications and brand officer in May and has been working with sports media advisors on its strategy with the press.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n However, there\u2019s a consensus that the players could do more to help build storylines.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI do think the top players need to be better and do media more,\u201d two-time major champion Brittany Lincicome, who retired from full-time competition in 2024, told SI, \u201cespecially on our end, because we\u2019re not as big and as cool as the PGA Tour. So anything we can do to kind of help build our brand and help the LPGA stick around for another 75 years, I think it needs to be done, and players probably aren\u2019t going to like that, but it kind of comes with the job.\u201d<\/p>\n When some LPGA stars talk to reporters, they can be tight-lipped at times. For example, in 2022, Korda\u2019s coach, Jamie Mulligan, detailed to Golfweek<\/a> Korda’s harrowing and potentially life-threatening blood clot that sidelined her earlier that season. After the article was published, Korda was asked about it in a press conference and said the comments were blown out of proportion.\u00a0<\/p>\n Perhaps they were, and Korda absolutely has the right to keep her medical history\u2014and anything else she chooses\u2014private. On the contrary, being open about her diagnosis and then coming back from it to win and return to world No. 1 is a story that would catch people\u2019s attention, which, in turn, could increase eyeballs on the LPGA.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lexi Thompson has been one of the faces of women\u2019s golf for the last decade despite a complicated relationship with the media. After receiving a four-stroke penalty<\/a> for improperly replacing her marked ball at the 2017 ANA Inspiration, she declined to comment afterwards, failing to clear the air for both journalists and her fans. Another similar moment followed her five-stroke collapse on the back nine of the 2021 U.S. Women\u2019s Open, where she skipped a television interview.\u00a0<\/p>\n There was also a tense moment at the 2023 Solheim Cup. Thompson was asked about a shank in Friday\u2019s matches and responded with, \u201cI don\u2019t need to comment on that.\u201d After a confused \u201cexcuse me?\u201d from the reporter, Thompson reaffirmed her answer and the media official began to redirect the conversation, but U.S. captain Stacy Lewis got her two cents in by quipping, \u201cThat\u2019s a terrible question.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Confounding answer from Lexi and subsequent reaction from the US side. It was one of the pivotal moments of the entire day and somehow that’s off limits? pic.twitter.com\/9std3LFlmN<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n