Rory McIlroy had never played Royal Troon before he came to town last Thursday to get ready for the 145th British Open and after his practice round on Tuesday, you could not blame him if he never played it again.
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Former world No.1 Rory McIlroy has bristled at suggestions he is in danger of becoming the Ringo Starr of golf’s fab four.
No chance he’ll get kicked out of the group, certainly not without putting up quite a fight.
The last six Open winners at Troon have been American and two of them – Justin Leonard and Todd Hamilton – have strong Texan connections.
Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth have all chose to sit out golf’s return to the Olympics for the first time since 1904.
“It’s one of those holes where you just try to hit it in the middle of the green, even though it’s only 115, 120 yards”, he said.
He said: “I crave this one”.
The withdrawal of Spieth, who won the Masters and US Open a year ago, means that six of the world’s top 10 will not be at the Olympics, with Australia’s Adam Scott and South Africa’s Branden Grace also opting to miss out.
In 2015, Spieth surged to the pinnacle by winning the Masters and the U.S. Open, and just missing out on a playoff at St. Andrews.
Jordan Spieth said pulling out of the Olympics was the hardest decision he’s ever made, and that it likely will haunt him as he’s watching golfers compete for a gold medal in Rio de Janeiro for the first time in 112 years.
Shane Lowry went through the whole gamut of emotions after throwing away a four-shot lead in the final round of U.S. Open last month. “The Claret Jug is something I’ve held in my hands, I was with (fellow American) Zach Johnson the night he won it previous year”. “Great, young talents carrying it and pushing it”.
After winning the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational past year and contending in two straight U.S. Opens, Lowry is starting to feel at home on the highest stage.
“It will loom over me throughout the Olympic Games, for sure”. I can’t worry about other guys.
“But I mean, I’m happy where my game is”.
McIlroy says the infrequent urine tests performed by golf’s major governing bodies aren’t almost enough to root out any doping cheats who might be looking for an edge on the course.
“So it can give you a bit of confidence going forward into this week”. “If golf is in the Olympics and golf wants to be seen as a mainstream sport as such, it has to get in line with the other sports that test more rigorously”.
“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 previous year”, said the world number three.
Spieth cited “health concerns” as his reason for withdrawing, though he said the Zika virus was only part of it.
“I don’t think it was as hard a decision for me as it was for him”, McIlroy said. I feel like I’m rounding into form.
“I’m here to win”.
That was clearly a shot at golf’s Olympic boosters, who have said it’s the best way to spread the sport to nontraditional areas, with South America being at the forefront this year.
McIlroy was next to arrive at The Open Zone, and he was clearly not rattled by his mishap at the Postage Stamp during his practice round earlier in the day. “I’ll probably watch the Olympics, but I’m not sure golf will be one of the events I watch”.
McIlroy says he’s “very comfortable” with his decision not to go to Rio.
“I’m very passionate and very much a supporter of the Olympics and Olympic golf”.
So, what will he watch?
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Another zinger from a player who has no intention of fading away.
