Jack Nicklaus ‘surprised’ Rory McIlroy is not playing in Memorial Tournament | Golf Channel

Todd Lewis discusses Jack Nicklaus’ comments ahead of the Memorial Tournament, including the selection for the Memorial Honoree and the host’s reaction to Rory McIlroy not playing in the tournament. #GolfChannel #MemorialTournament #PGATour #RoryMcIlroy
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Jack Nicklaus ‘surprised’ Rory McIlroy is not playing in Memorial Tournament | Golf Channel
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WEEK, LET’S SECOND IT DOWN TO TODD LEWIS. >>> THE 50th EDITION OF THE MEMORIAL PRESENTED BY WORKDAY, A TOURNAMENT JACK NICKLAUS WANTED TO BRING BACK TO THE AREA HE GREW UP. HIGH-CLASS TOURNAMENT WITH A HIGH-CLASS FIELD. THE MEMORIAL RECOGNIZES A PERSON WHO IS CONTRIBUTING GREATLY TO THE GAME OF GOLF. THIS YEAR’S RECIPIENT IS JACK’S WIFE, BARBARA, NAMED AS THE FIRST LADY OF GOLF, AND SOMEONE JACK CALLED THE MOST SELFLESS PERSON HE’S EVER KNOWN. >> A SPECIAL PERSON TO ME. YOU UNDERSTAND HOW THAT CAME ABOUT, MY SON, GARY, CAME TO ME, OH, I DON’T KNOW, A COUPLE MONTHS BEFORE THE TOURNAMENT, AND HE SAID, DAD, HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT HONORING MOM? I SAID, NO, IT REALLY HADN’T ENTERED MY MIND, GARY, BUT YOU’RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. SHE’S BEEN AS MUCH A PART OF THIS TOURNAMENT AS I HAVE. SHE’S BEEN THE GUIDING LIGHT FOR A GOOD COMMON SENSE AND GOOD JUDGMENT AND, YOU KNOW, THE TOUR WIVES HAVE ALL LOOKED UP TO BARBARA AND WHERE SHE’S GONE AND WHAT SHE’S DONE, AND, YOU KNOW, THE PEOPLE HAVE COME INTO THIS TOURNAMENT, MANY HAVE COME HERE BECAUSE OF BARBARA. I CALLED JOE DYE — I DIDN’T CALL JOE DYE. I COULDN’T CALL HIM. I CALLED CHARLIE, AND I TALKED TO CHARLIE AND SAID, CHARLIE, IT’S BEEN SUGGESTED. WHAT DO YOU THINK? I HADN’T THOUGHT ABOUT THAT EITHER, BUT YOU’RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. AND SO HE CALLED ME BACK THE NEXT DAY. I CANVASSED AND IT WAS UNANIMOUS. I SAID, SO I HAD THE HONOR TO BE ABLE TO ANNOUNCE THAT ON TELEVISION, I COULDN’T GET IT OUT. WHAT BARBARA’S MEANT TO THE TOURNAMENT, WHAT SHE’S MEANT TO ME AND OUR FAMILY, YOU KNOW, VERY, VERY SPECIAL. >> THE CEREMONY WILL TAKE PLACE ON WEDNESDAY AND THEN THURSDAY IT’S ROUND ONE. EIGHT OF THE TOP TEN IN THE WORLD WILL BE COMPETING AT MUIRFIELD VILLAGE. ONE NAME MISSING, PRETTY POWERFUL NAME, MASTERS CHAMPION, RORY McILROY, WILL NOT PLAY IN THE MEMORIAL FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2017. NOW NICKLAUS HAS A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH RORY McILROY, BUT HE SAID HE HAS NOT HAD A CONVERSATION ON WHY RORY IS SKIPPING THIS TOURNAMENT. >> HEY, JACK, TWO SEPARATE THINGS. FIRST, JUST TO CLARIFY, WERE YOU NOT AWARE UNTIL THE REST OF US THAT RORY WASN’T COMING? >> I WAS SORT OF AWARE ABOUT THE MIDDLE OF LAST WEEK. >> AND SO IT SORT OF SURPRISES YOU, I GUESS? >> IT SURPRISED ME BUT, YOU KNOW, GUYS HAVE GOT SCHEDULES, THINGS THEY DO AND I HAVEN’T TALKED TO HIM FOR HIM TO TELL ME WHY OR WHY NOT. YOU KNOW, THAT’S JUST HIS CALL. I MADE A LOT OF CALLS THAT I HAD TO MAKE WHEN I PLAYED TO PLAY OR NOT PLAY AND SOMETIMES IT WASN’T AS POPULAR AS PEOPLE THOUGHT IT WAS, BUT, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO MAKE THOSE CALLS. I DON’T HOLD ANYTHING AGAINST RORY FOR THAT. HE DID WHAT HE LIKES TO PLAY. HE LIKES TO PLAY SO MANY IN A ROW, THE WEEK BEFORE A U.S. OPEN, AND SO HE — THAT’S WHAT HE’S DOING. I REALLY DON’T HAVE A COMMENT ON IT. IT’S VERY DIFFICULT. I’M A BIG RORY FAN, ALWAYS HAVE BEEN, AND I’M SURE THAT I WILL REMAIN THAT WAY. I JUST AM A LITTLE SURPRISED, YES. >> FOR THOSE IN THE FIELD, THEY WILL FACE YET ANOTHER TOUGH GOLF COURSE SETUP BY JACK NICKLAUS TALKING TO PLAYERS WHO HAVE PLAYED UIRFIELD VILLAGE, THE GREENS ARE FAST AND FIRM AND THE ROUGH IS A UNIFORM 4 INCHES AND VERY, VERY DENSE. WI