The world No 3 has hinted that his Rio Olympic snub may not have been entirely due to fears over the Zika virus, saying his situation was “a little more complicated” than others.
Preparing for ‘Asia’s major’
On the eve of “Asia’s major” – the US$9.5 million (Dh35m) World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai – the Northern Irishman said he had not yet given much thought about playing at Tokyo 2020, being dubbed as “Asia’s Olympics”.
Politics getting in the way
“The participation in the Olympics, for me it’s just a little more complicated than for some other people, where I’m from and the whole politics of the thing,” he said. McIlroy was referring to having to choose whether to represent Great Britain or the Republic of Ireland at the Games, a touchy topic.
Britain or Ireland?
“It’s a difficult subject for me,” McIlroy, 27, said before acknowledging that the sport’s first appearance in the Games for more than 100 years had been a success despite his initial reservations. Before pulling out ahead of the Rio Games, he had come under fire from some quarters in Northern Ireland for originally opting to compete under Ireland’s tricolour.
Joy to watch golf on TV
McIlroy had given a blunt assessment of Olympic golf before Rio, saying he might not even watch it on TV. “Probably [I’ll watch] the events like track and field, swimming, diving, the stuff that matters,” he had said. But he revealed he had tuned in, and he was delighted by what unfolded as his Ryder Cup teammates Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson went head-to-head right to the last putt on the final green. “It was fantastic for golf. Honestly, I was happy to be watching on TV,” he said.
Undecided on Tokyo
McIlroy got a taste of what he had missed out on at the Sheshan International Golf Club course yesterday. As he entered the media centre for a news conference, Stenson was leaving, clutching his Olympic silver medal. But he still would not commit to going to Tokyo. Not yet anyway. “Four years time is a long way away, so we’ll see what happens,” the four-time major winner said.
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