Golf fans got a surprise on Thursday at The Masters when Rory McIlroy was interviewed in-play during his round at Augusta National.
In-play interviews have been a new addition to PGA Tour coverage this year, with Max Homa (who also did an interview during his round on Thursday) starting the new feature at the Farmers Insurance Open. He was followed by Keith Mitchell at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, with Rory McIlroy finally giving it a go at the WGC-Match Play after initially being hesitant.
The four-time Major winner surprised viewers with his in-play chat while walking down the 9th hole, with social media divided. Many fans loved it but some were questioning whether it was a distraction from what is one of the biggest weeks of his career - with only The Masters left to wrap up in a career, and trophy cabinet, that features almost every accolade there is to win.
Thoughts on McIlroy's in-play interview at #themasters? pic.twitter.com/SKcJuptT1VApril 6, 2023
McIlroy explained why he decided to take part: "Yeah, so the club reached out to us last week and just inquired if I would be interested in doing it," he said.
"I did it a couple weeks ago at the Match Play. It definitely feels a little less intrusive with the ear piece rather than someone right up next to you with the microphone like they've been doing it in Europe for a couple of years.
"I thought it would be a cool thing to do. I did it in Austin and didn't feel like it took me out of my rhythm in any way or made me think about things too much. So it's nice to provide the audience at home a little bit more insight into what's going on out here.
"I mean, I think with the previous chairman, he definitely brought things forward. Then I think since Chairman Ridley has come along, he's really tried to push the envelope as well. So I think Augusta have a great balance of blending that history and that tradition but also making sure we're keeping up with the times, I guess.
"I thought Max's was great at Torrey. I thought Keith Mitchell's was good at Pebble. I think they're the only two that I've watched, but I really enjoyed them. I thought Max provided some great insight into the hole he was playing, and I thought Keith did a really good job as well."
And who does he want to see do an in-play interview next? There's only one person, of course, and he admits that will never materialize.
"Tiger. There's only one answer there," before joking that the chances of that happening are "zero".
The Northern Irishman got off to a slow start in his ninth attempt at the career grand slam, with a level-par 72 that he described as "a little untidy in places".
