After missing a legendary albatross at Le Golf National by the narrowest of margins, four-time major champion Rory McIlroy came dangerously close to making Olympic history.
Alongside Shane Lowry, McIlroy is playing for Team Ireland in Paris this week. Following a solid first round, he had a fast start to his second 18 holes. The Northern Irishman made eagle at the par-five third after starting Friday’s play with consecutive pars at the first and second.
McIlroy’s second shot from the fairway sank into the hole and then popped back out to finish inside two feet of the pin, so things could have been even better for him.
The four-time major winner is competing in his second Olympics, having gone to Tokyo the previous three years. 2016 saw the return of golf to the Olympic program after more than a century away; nevertheless, given the event’s protracted absence from the professional ranks, several players, including McIlroy, questioned its significance.
A number of well-known athletes withdrew from the 2016 competition due to the Zika virus outbreak that occurred in Brazil eight years prior, including McIlroy. When the Olympic event first returned, he had previously played it down, saying, “I suppose I’ll be recognised for my major championships.” Thus, winning majors has been my only dream since I was a young child.
“I never imagined going to the Olympics or taking home a gold. Thus, a major will always be more significant in my opinion.” After eight years, though, it seems the Team Ireland player is starting to warm up to the notion, saying it would be his greatest accomplishment to date during his ten-year quest for a fifth major championship.
Rory McIlroy during an Olympic competition
Rory McIlroy competing in the Olympic Games
“It’s the accomplishment of the year,” declared the former Open champion. If not, I believe it is widely known that I haven’t won a Big Four title in a decade. It’s likely one of the largest in my career over the past ten years, if not the biggest.”
After shooting a three-under-par 68 on Thursday, McIlroy seems surprised by the amount of support for the Olympic event. In round one, 25,000 spectators flocked to Le Golf National from the heart of Paris to watch McIlroy and company. “It was an incredible crowd. The world No. 3 stated, “It was unexpected.”
Be the First to Comment: “It was a really cool setting to play in, especially with so many events going on all over the city. I really appreciated that people came out to watch us play.” This was not what I expected. I figured there might be a few more people over the weekend. It was amazing, even if I had anticipated the first few days to be a little bit calmer. Tokyo [because of COVID-19 limits] was a ghost town.
“This was a huge improvement. I thought it was fantastic how supportive the crowd was of all of us out there. Of course, there are a few more flags and a little more—I’m not sure what the word is—nationalism. However, everyone out there was incredibly supportive of us.
It was wonderful to observe.”
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