“I’m not sure golf will be one of the events I watch”, said McIlroy, who withdrew from the Rio Games last month citing, like so many of his contemporaries, the threat of zika as the reason.
Advertisement
However, in one of many moments of candor on Tuesday, McIlroy said he doesn’t feel wholly compelled by his position and visibility in the sport to promote Olympic golf. “I didn’t get into golf to try and grow the game”, explained the 27-year-old.
Spieth’s back-to-back major victories previous year propelled him to golf super stardom, and many hoped he would feature in the sport’s long anticipate return to the Olympic Games.
“I’ve been tested by the IGF or Olympic testing once this year and that was the Friday of the US Open, but it was only a urine test, ” he said.
“If golf wants to stay in the Olympics and wants to be seen as a mainstream sport as such it has to get in line with the rest of the sports that test more rigorously”.
He said it was the toughest decision he had ever made, but he joined McIlroy in defending his right to act in what he perceived as his own best interests.
His comments came after Jordan Spieth announced his decision Monday not to play at Rio – a decision meaning none of the world’s top four will be part of the sport’s return to the Summer Games for the first time since 1904.
Asked which events he’d watch, McIlroy replied: “Probably the events that…track and field, swimming, diving, the stuff that matters“.
Each of the top four players in the world and seven of the top 15 men are out, including Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy. “People don’t know what I know about myself, and my future, and my goals, and therefore there’s nothing I can do about it except go on and try and focus on this week”.
With typically refreshing honesty, Rory McIlroy yesterday delivered a requiem to the future of golf as an Olympic sport. “I don’t feel I’ve left the game down”.
It’s sort of like the Hall of Fame, but where you get changed. In effect saying golf doesn’t matter in the Olympics is an insult to everybody that goes and plays in the Olympics. I’ll be texting with Rickie (Fowler), obviously, throughout. “I don’t really know, you know?” he added.
“We have certainly faced a number of challenges, as I’ve said along the road, this is another one”.
Advertisement
“This is going to be a very, very hard thing for me to do to watch the opening ceremonies and watch my peers compete for a gold medal. and watch people stand on the stage and hear the national anthem playing”, added Spieth.
