HOYLAKE, England — Rory McIlroy has spent the better part of his marvelously successful golfing career as one of the most accessible and transparent stars in the sport.

That, as of late, curiously has changed.

For the second consecutive major championship, McIlroy, suddenly and without explanation, canceled his pre-tournament media session that was scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday in advance of the 151st British Open set to begin Thursday at Royal Liverpool.

McIlroy is the betting favorite to win this week and the winner of the claret jug the last time the Open was played at Hoylake, in 2014. So, there was much to discuss and ask of the No. 2-ranked player in the world in advance of the year’s final major championship.

Is his no-show cause for alarm or worthy of criticism?

That’s all up for debate.

What isn’t up for debate is this: McIlroy’s hunger to win another major championship is bordering on starvation and his patience is wearing thin.

You can make a valid argument that McIlroy winning the Genesis Scottish Open on Sunday — with a stirring birdie-birdie finish — piled even more pressure on him as he tries this week to end a nine-plus-year drought without a major.

There have been 34 major championships played since McIlroy last captured one, at the 2014 PGA Championship. He’s won 16 other tournaments since that ’14 PGA triumph.

But not his fifth major.

It’s been a weird and somewhat turbulent year for the 34-year-old from Northern Ireland despite how well he’s played.

He canceled his pre-tournament press conference before the U.S. Open and nearly won it at Los Angeles Country Club, finishing runner-up to Wyndham Clark.

That came after he proclaimed in his pre-tournament interview at Augusta National that he felt better than he ever had entering the Masters and then missed the cut.

Not long after that, McIlroy was on record saying he felt used and betrayed when PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced — without the players knowing — that the tour came to a “framework agreement’’ to align with LIV Golf after McIlroy had essentially spent the previous year as Monahan’s mouthpiece denouncing the Saudi-backed tour.

The sting from that has not come even close to wearing off for McIlroy, who has since hinted strongly that he’s going to focus on himself instead of being a spokesperson about all things PGA Tour related.

This surely has had something to do with his no-shows at these pre-tournament press conferences. But, in fairness, McIlroy did a pre-tournament presser before the Scottish Open and, because he was in contention all week, he spoke to reporters after every round.

Winning a golf tournament — whether it’s a major or not — is a stressful affair that can be exhausting. So, McIlroy can certainly be excused for excusing himself from Tuesday’s meeting with reporters at Hoylake.

But you can’t help but wonder if, in doing this, it’s a part of McIlroy’s ongoing search to find the right formula to end this major-less drought. Maybe he feels like blowing off his pre-tournament presser at LACC helped him focus and perform better.

“I’m as close as I’ve ever been, really,’’ McIlroy told reporters last week before the Scottish Open. “My consistency in the performances, especially in the majors over the last couple years, is way better than it has been over the last few years. I need to keep putting myself in those positions. Even though I’m not getting the [major] wins, it’s going to stand by me for whenever I get myself in position again.’’

When McIlroy won the 2014 PGA at age 25, he joined Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to win four or more majors before turning 26. At that time, winning double-digit majors seemed like a no-brainer. Thirty-four majors later, he’s still in search of No. 5.

Since his win at the 2014 PGA, McIlroy has finished in the top 10 in 19 majors, most of any player in that span. The next three names on that list — Brooks Koepka (17 top-10s), Dustin Johnson (16) and Jordan Spieth (13) — have combined to win 10 majors in that time period.

McIlroy has been within four shots of the lead entering the final round of a major six times since 2018. That includes last year’s Open at St. Andrews, when he shared the 54-hole lead, hit every green in regulation in the final round and still could not overcome winner Cam Smith.

McIlroy said before the Scottish Open that he was playing that event “just to get some competitive golf under my belt, get a scorecard in my hand and play.’’

That worked out beautifully for him.

Now comes this week, when it really counts.

Sunday will mark 3,269 days since his last major win.

McIlroy is desperately hoping that Monday is not the 3,270th day without another one.