McIlroy, the 2014 British Open champion, said on Tuesday he was tested “four to five times a year, which is very little compared to the rest of the Olympic sports…”
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“This is a very selfish decision and I get that”.
On a Friday in October 2009, a delegation of golf executives and players arrived at the Copenhagen Marriott hotel to make one last pitch to members of the International Olympic Committee.
Other top players, such as Jason Day (No. 1), Dustin Johnson (No. 2), and Jordan Spieth (No. 3) have said they will skip Rio.
“At this present moment I’ll be brutally honest, it’s not the same feeling I had when I was getting ready for the British Open a year ago”, said the world number three. With 18 other players having withdrawn, he was looked upon as someone whose commitment might ease the backlash against golf for its perceived indifference about the sport returning to the Olympics. “I would love to one day hold the Claret Jug and be able to put my name down in history with the best that have ever lived and played the game”, he said.
“But I feel like with the things that I’m working on in my swing, hopefully that will get me to that point, and hopefully it’s this week where I start to trust myself more with my swing, and I trust the shots that I’m trying to hit and trust that more times than not, I can pull them off”.
“I told him he had to do what was best for himself”, Fowler added after giving a lesson to schoolchildren at Troon as part of the HSBC Hour, which offers an hour of free golf to children and their families at nearly 300 golf clubs across the UK.
He said, No worries. But I hope I have the Claret Jug in my possession before that time.
With the benefit of hindsight, Spieth clearly would have made his announcement before Monday’s Games deadline. “I haven’t heard that”, he said. Because I’m a huge believer in Olympic golf.
“I’m excited about it, treating it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”.
“Not everybody’s going to understand”. Nobodys going to understand what its like in my shoes…. “I just couldn’t make a decision”.
Spieth noted he will not participate in the John Deere Classic, which coincides with the Olympics on August 11-14, saying he doesn’t think it’s an “appropriate move” to play that week. “So I will not be playing that week”, he said. “I don’t think it would be appropriate given our decision on the Olympics”.
Spieth is expected to go into more detail during a media availability Tuesday.
McIlroy is the only one who has not won a Major for two years and is in danger of being Ringo sitting at the back while his rivals hog the limelight at the front of the stage. “I crave to have that trophy in my possession at some point”.
“So working hard for it. Seen a couple different wind conditions”.
There are enough hazards on a golf course as it is. I didn’t have two good majors so I’m looking to get the last two and play well here and at the PGA.
Before I go any further with this, let me say I wish all of the golfers who have turned down berths in the Summer Olympics were going to the Games in Brazil. Does that mean this week it may? I don’t know. But I love this style of golf.
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“The Olympics to me is certainly the premier event when it comes down to a lot of different sports”.
