The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
McIlroy ‘pleasantly surprised’ by success of Olympic golf event
Rory McIlroy was glad to be “somewhat proven wrong” by the success of golf at the Olympics following its controversial return to the Games.
McIlroy was one of more than 20 top players to withdraw from Rio, the 27-year-old initially citing concerns over the zika virus but later admitting that major championships remained the “pinnacle” of the sport and he would only watch “the stuff that matters” in the Olympics.
Gold medal winner Justin Rose revealed he had received a message of congratulations from McIlroy which implied that the four-time major winner had changed his mind and watched the thrilling climax.
And speaking at yesterday’s press conference ahead of the first FedEx Cup play-off event at Bethpage Black, McIlroy confirmed he had caught the decisive final hole and first medal ceremony since 1904.
“I saw Henrik and Justin’s fairway woods at the last and I saw the chip shots and I saw the putts and I saw the medal ceremony,” McIlroy said at the Barclays.
“Actually I spent the weekend in my in-laws cabin in upstate New York where there was no TV, no electricity.
“But we got back Sunday afternoon, so caught up with it. Obviously it pleasantly surprised me.
“There was more people at the golf events than there was at the athletics. It was good to see, it really was. It seems like it was a great atmosphere down there. I think it was one of the cheaper tickets as well, and I think that encouraged a lot of people to go.
“It was well supported down there and I think Justin was a great winner. He was on board from the start. You go back years and see his quotes about it, and he was really excited to play and looking forward to play. So I think it was the right winner in the end, as well.
“It was nice to be proven wrong somewhat in terms of... like I thought golf was sort of going to get lost a little bit. It was away from the village; I thought it was going to just sort of blend in with everything else and be, not forgotten about, but just one of a lot of sports that are there obviously. But to see the crowds and see the turnout, I was glad to be somewhat proven wrong.”
Players in Rio reported only a handful of encounters with mosquitoes, which carry the zika virus, but numerous cases have recently been recorded across the United States, including in McIlroy’s adopted home state of Florida.
“You see cases even north of that in Ohio and New Jersey and all sorts of places. It’s hard not to go home, but at the same time zika was just one of a few issues I felt like I was facing going down to Brazil,” he said.
“I guess everyone’s got to deal with it and at the same time it’s not as if Erica (Stoll, his fiancée) and I are planning on having kids in the next year or so. We’ll see.”
McIlroy, who is down to fifth in the world after Stenson won silver in Rio, has not played since missing the cut in the US PGA, where he labelled his putting as “pathetic”.
Meanwhile, Thomas Pieters will have the perfect platform to stake his lastminute claim for a Ryder Cup wild card as he partners European captain Darren Clarke in the first two rounds of the Made in Denmark event.
Clarke will name his three wild cards on Tuesday and is widely expected to select the experienced pair of Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer, leaving the final spot up for grabs.
Pieters and Scotland’s world No 20 Russell Knox are understood to be the favourites, but Clarke said there are “six or seven” players still in contention.
“I would be looking maybe towards experience to balance the team up, but that doesn’t mean I won’t pick a rookie,” Clarke said at Himmerland Golf and Spa Resort.