He just doesn’t care that much about Olympic golf. I’ve received a lot from the game of golf.
Advertisement
The squad, which was formally unveiled Wednesday at Royal Troon, also includes Masters champion Danny Willett, with Charley Hull and Catriona Matthew on the women’s side. The Olympics is the most exciting event to watch on TV and to have the chance to be a part of it is something I look forward to trying to do. “Not everyone is going to understand…but I felt it was the best decision for my future”.
“I believe golf in the Olympics would be very beneficial for the sport”, he said. “I’m an ambassador for the PGA Junior League, I do some stuff for the First Tee in the States and I feel like I’ve used my success in golf in a very positive way in the community”.
International Golf Federation president Peter Dawson has described the withdrawal of top players from the Olympic tournament due to the Zika virus as an “overreaction” and Spieth admitted that may prove to be the case.
It is the powers at be who have put golf in the Olympics who are to blame, not the players themselves.
But as Jordan Spieth confessed his decision to snub the Olympics had been the “most difficult” of his life yesterday, McIlroy said he was simply looking after No 1. He said he would carry the decision with him through the Olympics and for a while. “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”.
McIlroy, a four-time Major victor, is one of numerous golfers to pull out of competing at the Games, citing fears over the Zika virus, the mosquito-borne disease which has been linked with a condition in which babies are born with small heads and underdeveloped brains.
MOSCOW: Long jumper Darya Klishina, the only Russian athlete cleared to compete in this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio, says she does not feel a traitor.
“So, I mean, for example, you can’t really pick [HGH] up in a urine test”.
When told that Jordan Spieth said opting out of the Olympics was the toughest decision he’d ever made, McIlroy shook his head. “If golf wants to stay in the Olympics and wants to be part of the Olympic movement it has to get in line”. But at the same time I got into golf to win.
“I got into golf to win”.
Massaro told BBC Radio 5 Live: “It does seem a little unfair that a lot of sports out there would absolutely love their place in the Olympic Games, would see it as a pinnacle and would do everything they can to get an Olympic medal”.
Advertisement
“I’m very happy with the decision I made”.
