Ireland’s Olympic representative, Rory McIlroy, has cautioned his rivals in LIV Golf that they are solely responsible for their own lack of participation.
Retelling the story of his pursuit of Olympic glory to LIV Golf defectors, Rory McIlroy is aiming to create history at Le Golf National. The golfing titan, who is already well-known for winning four major championships, is competing for Team Ireland’s first Olympic medal with the goal of taking his already remarkable career to new heights.
Together with the formidable Shane Lowry, the two hope to bring honor and victory to the Emerald Isle during the Games. Speaking about his goals, McIlroy stated: “It would be the accomplishment, for sure, of the year. It’s pretty well documented, in my opinion, that I haven’t won one of the big four in a decade. It would most likely be the largest of the past ten years of my career, if not the biggest.
“My focus is pretty high,” he continued. I didn’t do myself any favors [in the Open] at Troon the last time you guys saw me. On Thursday, I want to make sure I’m starting from the proper position. I’m often asked where an Olympic medal would fall in the hierarchy of my career accomplishments, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to respond until everything is said and done.”
He continued, saying, “I don’t know if anything will be able to sit alongside the majors,” in reference to the Games’ comparison to other events. Every year, we have four events that are considered the best. However, I believe that this will eventually rank right up there with that.”
Some LIV Golf members who didn’t make the cut may not agree with McIlroy’s reflections on the Summer Games. Even though seven athletes from LIV Golf qualified for the Olympics this year, well-known individuals like Bryson DeChambeau did not make the cut.
DeChambeau narrowly missed out on competing for Team USA in Paris by three spots, and other notable golfers such as Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Sergio Garcia, and Cameron Smith will also not be able to represent their nations. “If you want to qualify for the Olympics, you knew what you had to do,” McIlroy said bluntly at Thursday’s event launch, addressing those who were not fortunate enough to make the cut.
In the same way that you knew what to do to get into the Ryder Cup. They knew exactly what they were doing when they made that decision.” He went on: “It’s difficult to compare the golf they play to the golf we play, so I don’t think there’s another way to do (Olympic qualifying). Is that the reason they were not awarded points in the world ranking?
Even though McIlroy hasn’t won a major tournament since winning the Valhalla PGA Championship in 2014, he is still full of optimism. He is keen to close the gap with Hideki Matsuyama, who is now leading with a score of -8, having finished the opening round in France with a score of -3, placing him at T15.
But McIlroy will have a difficult fight to win an Olympic medal this summer against strong opponents like Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick competing for Team GB, and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele representing Team USA.
Leave a Reply