Four-time Major victor Rory McIlroy has stoked golf’s Olympic row further by saying he may not even watch the competition in Rio next month because he considers it to be of such little significance.
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“It will loom over me throughout the Olympic Games, for sure”, the two-time major victor said Tuesday, calling his decision to withdraw the “hardest decision I’ve ever had to make in my life at 22 years old”. “Probably the events like track and field, swimming, diving, the stuff that matters”, he replied.
He added that some people even go as far as to say that golf isn’t a sport, a notion that Chamblee feels McIlroy could have fought against by going to Rio and taking part in the Olympics.
Massaro said squash’s top players had signed a letter when it was seeking Olympic recognition before the IOC decided which sports would feature at Rio – 18 of the world’s top golfers did similar in 2009. “All of a sudden you get to this point and there is a responsibility on you to grow the game and I get that”.
The Northern Irishman, now ranked No. 4 in the world, gave his frank assessment of golf’s drug-testing program as the sport approaches its return to the Olympics for the first time in 112 years.
“We’re also following with interest the discussions in the golf community, how they themselves are considering these discussions and what judgment they are making”, he said.
Fears over the Zika virus have been cited by a number of top players, despite such concerns not appearing to trouble athletes in other sports, or indeed the world’s leading female golfers.
“I don’t feel like have to carry the torch – see what I’ve done here – for the sport or anyone else”, Spieth said eliciting laughter.
“I think there are times in your career where you know you need to be single-minded, and maybe there are times of your career where it’s time to give back”, he said. He continued, ” I thought about all of this ahead of time and still made the decision I did because it was the right move for me”.
“I think golf in the Olympics is great for golf”. And that includes the other top three golfers in the world.
McIlroy doesn’t believe there is a drug out there that can completely make a person a better golfer, but wants his sport to have stricter testing to make sure it’s clean.
Darren Clarke at yesterday’s practice at Royal Troon. “You’re just going to be jealous when I get that gold'”.
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McIlroy, who donated his prize money of £515,000 for winning the Irish Open in May to his own foundation, which hosts the event, added: “The next generation can play golf if they want or they don’t”. I wanted to make sure I did my homework and knew the risks and that I felt comfortable with going down.
