Rory McIlroy shows true colours with immediate apology at PGA Tour's Memorial

Rory McIlroy showed his softer side when immediately apologising for almost hitting a camera operator with his golf club. McIlroy, 35, endured a difficult afternoon at Muirfield Village Golf Club, finishing tied 15th in the final round of the Memorial Tournament.

The Northern Irishman could not find his best form in the competition and does not look any closer to winning his first major title since 2014. His afternoon was perfectly summed up in the fifth hole on Sunday when his significantly overhit drive landed in the water. 

Unsurprisingly, McIlroy was anything but pleased with his shot. He made his frustration perfectly clear when he gently lobbed his club with one hand behind him. What he did not realise was there was a camera operator standing not too far behind him. 

When McIlroy saw his club land close to the operator behind him, he quickly apologised to them, saying: "Oops, sorry".

McIlroy showed his true colours with his quick apology, while other players may have picked their club up and strutted away without any sort of acknowledgement.

McIlroy has been one of the more fascinating characters in golf over the last few years. He took a lead role in the battle between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, fiercely representing PGA stars, before the two golf factions went on to merge together in June 2023. 

One year on from that moment, the Northern Irishman was one of many PGA players to be part of recent talks with LIV bankrollers, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. McIlroy and many of his colleagues held an in-person talk with the Middle Eastern investors to discuss how the sport will look in the years to come. 

When asked about the meeting, he said: "Very productive, very constructive, very collaborative. I think those are probably three words I would use to describe it.

"Yeah, it was really good. Definitely things are heading in the right direction. A lot of progress was made. I can't really say much more than that, but it was really positive. Definitely encouraged."

He added: "You've got to understand, they're a sovereign wealth fund. They invest in companies and in different things and they want a return on their investment. That's what they want.

"It doesn't seem like they're getting that at the minute within golf. Hopefully, if things progress and we get to a certain point, then hopefully they see a future where that can happen, they can start to get some returns on their money."

Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler emerged victorious from Muirfield Village to win his fifth title of 2024. He became the second player after Tiger Woods to lift the Players Championship, Masters and Memorial in the same year.