Rory's Rio call made easy

If double Major-winning Rory McIlroy qualifies for the 2016 Olympics he will represent Ireland in Rio de Janeiro.

That’s the view of Peter Dawson, chief executive with the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A), and who was instrumental is seeking the return of golf to the summer Olympics.

Dawson is determined to remove the burden of choice from the 23-year-old, who is torn between teeing-up as a member of Team GB or Team Ireland.

“Because of Rory’s history of playing for Ireland at amateur level and at World Cup level there may be a regulation within the Olympic rules which would determine which country he plays for,” said Dawson.

“We are still looking at the matter, but under that regulation he could play under Irish colours.

“It’s quite ambiguous as there are regulations within the IOC that if you play previous world championships for a certain country that has to carry with you.

“So the question is: is the World Cup of Golf a world championship and so on? Golf isn’t structured in the same way as it with other sports.

“But I would very much like to take this burden of choice away from the player, if possible, because it’s not fair.

“I think Rory has made it pretty clear, and what I have heard privately, he is worried about it and the last thing we want is a player worrying about it.”

Dawson was speaking from within the iconic R&A clubhouse and his top floor office that overlooks the famed Old Course at St Andrews.

The club is one of five at the home of golf, with three being men-only clubs and two women-only clubs and Dawson indicated the R&A, as organisers of the British Open, will not ‘bully’ two other men-only host venues in Muirfield or Royal Troon into changing their men-only membership policy.

Muirfield will play host to the 142nd British Open Championship this year.

“There is also nothing wrong under UK legislation with a single-sex club as long as they behave under the equality act as far as guest access is concerned, and which Muirfield certainly does,” said Dawson.

“And to think the R&A might say to a club like Muirfield, ‘you are not going to have the Open anymore unless you change your policy’ is frankly a bullying position that we would never take.

“Muirfield has a huge history when it comes to the [British] Open and this will be the 16th time that is has been played there, and who are we to say what they should do as they are behaving perfectly legally.”