McIlroy may skip Olympics due to nationality furore

Rory McIlroy is reaching breaking point on the subject of his national allegiance and hinted he is giving serious consideration to skipping the 2016 Olympic Games.

McIlroy said in a BBC documentary broadcast last night that he may opt out when golf returns to the Games in Rio de Janeiro rather than risk offending fans by choosing to represent Ireland or Team GB.

Speaking to reporter Stephen Watson in “Rory: Being Number One”, the 23-year old said: “I just think being from where we’re from, we’re placed in a very difficult position.

“I feel Northern Irish and obviously being from Northern Ireland you have a connection to Ireland and a connection to the UK. If I could and there was a Northern Irish team I’d play for Northern Ireland. Play for one side or the other — or not play at all because I may upset too many people… Those are my three options I’m considering very carefully.”

McIlroy was at the centre of a heated debate earlier this year when he told a British newspaper: “What makes it such an awful position to be in is I have grown up my whole life playing for Ireland under the Golfing Union of Ireland umbrella. But the fact is, I’ve always felt more British than Irish.”

Just last week, McIlroy said in an RTÉ interview: “You don’t want to upset anyone with a choice that you make because I feel I am more than just a flag.

“I play golf and I am an international sportsperson and it doesn’t tie me to one flag or one allegiance and it’s just been a tough position to be put in.”

McIlroy felt compelled to issue an Open Letter to his fans in September so great was the fallout from the “more British than Irish” comments that suggested he might prefer to play for Team GB in Brazil. “It was a moment, I don’t want to say of weakness, but a moment of, I guess, frustration with it all,” McIlroy said.

“People tune in to watch me play on TV and feel like they are connected to me in some way. I don’t want to repay them for their support with something they don’t want me to do.”

The documentary featured contributions from Tiger Woods, Graeme McDowell andMcIlroy’s girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki.

The Danish tennis star insisted that success had not changed McIlroy in the 18 months they’d been together.

“It’s good that we both have our own separate careers,” she said.

“We know how the other is feeling and the drive to always want to improve at sport, but at the same time one of us isn’t sitting at home waiting for the other.”