Rory McIlroy makes PGA Championship jibe in cheeky response to Masters controversy

Rory McIlroy cheekily responded to his Masters critics ahead of the PGA Championship. The golf sensation joked he's been residing at Aronimink Golf Club to squeeze in additional practice before this week's tournament. McIlroy, 37, encountered allegations of gaining an unfair advantage following his successful Masters title defence last month.

As a Green Jacket-holder, McIlroy capitalised on his access to Augusta National and bypassed tournaments in the build-up to his second victory at the prestigious Georgia course. Focus now shifts to Pennsylvania for the year's second major. And McIlroy embraced the humour when questioned about his preparations for the PGA Championship, which included spending time at Aronimink prior to the Truist Championship. "No, I lived there for a week," he sarcastically said to one reporter when asked about his recent trip to Philadelphia. "Just played it every day [smiles]. No, I went up and back in the same day.

"It was good to get...we played the BMW [Championship] there in 2018 but the course played a lot differently. It was wet in 2018 and the greens didn't play as fast or as severe as what I felt like they played last week when I played. So it's not a long golf course, but the big defence is the greens and they can tuck the pins away if they want to.

"But yeah, it was nice to get an early look at it. It just means that the week of the tournament you're not under pressure to play a lot of holes and historically the practice rounds at the PGA can be excruciatingly long, so it's probably going to just be nine holes Tuesday, nine holes Wednesday."

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The remarks suggest McIlroy isn't allowing any criticism to weigh heavily on him following his Masters triumph. Certain figures within golf took issue with the Northern Irishman sidelining other events to concentrate exclusively on his preparations at Augusta, yet such is the privilege that comes with claiming the Masters title.

The Truist Championship represented McIlroy's return to competitive action after several weeks away basking in his second consecutive Masters victory. He carded a fourth-round 67 at four-under par to finish tied for 19th place overall.

It was a sufficiently promising outcome after his brief spell out of the limelight. Particularly so after posting a disappointing 75 on Saturday that effectively extinguished any realistic hopes of claiming a record-extending fifth title at Quail Hollow Golf Club.

More than 60 years have elapsed since Aronimink last staged the PGA Championship. It did host the BMW Championship as recently as 2018, where McIlroy finished fifth, just two strokes adrift of eventual winner Keegan Bradley.

As McIlroy himself noted, conditions are anticipated to be considerably drier when play gets underway this week. He has claimed two PGA Championship titles in his career to date, though the most recent of those was back in 2014.

That said, several days of practice at Aronimink beforehand could prove highly beneficial once the tournament begins. And there can be no complaints of unfairness on this occasion should he claim back-to-back major victories.