McIlroy’s Olympics decision greeted with delight

Rory McIlroy had three choices regarding his participation at the 2016 Olympics and beyond, but opting out of the chance to take part in the Rio Games in two years was never really an option.

Since the International Olympic Committee in 2009 re-admitted golf to its movement for the first time since 1904, McIlroy was faced with a decision over whether he would represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland or Ireland. Yesterday, on the eve of the Irish Open at Fota Island Resort in Cork, he opted for the latter, the country he represented as an amateur under the auspices of the all-Ireland governing body, the GUI.

“I’m going to play for Ireland in 2016,” McIlroy declared yesterday during his pre-tournament press conference, thereby ending years or speculation and debate in his native Northern Ireland and beyond about what he should do with an issue he had previously described as putting him in an “extremely sensitive and difficult position”.

Yet the two-time major winner could also have decided to wash his hands of the whole thing and stayed home as his contemporaries teed it up for the first Olympic golfing gold medal in 112 years.

“Not to play? It would have been a very selfish decision,” McIlroy said. “It wouldn’t have been good for the game of golf at all.

“If we, as a golf community, want golf to succeed in the Olympics, you need to have your best players playing. I realised that pretty quickly. Obviously it was an option but was it ever going to be an option that I would decide to choose?

“No. Because ultimately, what we want is to grow the game and make the game better and make the game — expose the game more to more people around the world and not having your best players play at the Olympic Games in its first year back in over 100 years isn’t something that is good for golf.

“So it was an option but it was never an option that I would have taken.”

Naturally, McIlroy’s decision was greeted with delight by Irish Olympic boss Pat Hickey, the OCI chief talking of being thrilled at the news and the effect his presence will have on Team Ireland as they go for gold in 2016.

“His amazing sporting talent, brilliant personality and endless energy will give all our athletes a huge boost,” Hickey said, while on the other side of the fence GB&NI golf team leader Jamie Spence agreed with McIlroy’s sentiment that his presence was good for golf, regardless of which flag he chose to play under.

“It would have been great if he was on our side but I think he has made the right decision,” Spence said.

“It’s just great that Rory is going to play in the Olympics.”

Ireland’s three-time major winner Pádraig Harrington had travelled to Copenhagen in 2009 to lobby the IOC to have golf re-admitted in 2016 and yesterday at Fota Island.

“It’s great for golf in Ireland,” Harrington said. “Good that a decision was made.

“Three or four years ago people were wondering would these guys play. Now it looks like the best players will play, that’s a good sign isn’t it?

“When I spoke at the (Olympic) Council (in ’09), that was the worry about the best players not turning up. Now, it could mirror tennis. When it started out, it (Olympics) wasn’t biggest thing in sport, now it’s catching up to their Grand Slams.

“I see the same happening in golf. It’s been great for golf, I think that’s why all the players will play.

“Golf around the world has gained massively from the Olympics.

“We in golf have gained more from the Olympics than the Olympics has gained from us.”

Good for Ireland, good for golf. Whatever McIlroy’s reasons, it was not a decision taken lightly by the 25-year-old, who could conceivably play in at least five Olympic Games were he to stay competitive into his mid-40s.

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot,” McIlroy said. “I don’t know whether it’s been because the World Cup has been in Brazil and I’ve been thinking a couple of years down the line. Thinking about all the times that I played as an amateur for Ireland and as a boy and everything; I think for me it’s the right decision to play for Ireland.

“It’s more just because now that I’m playing golf for money and I’m a professional, I’m supposed to have this choice or this decision to make where, you know, if you look at the rugby players, you look at cricketers or hockey players, their sports are viewed — they view Ireland as one, the same as we do in golf. I don’t think there’s any point to change that or any point to go against that just because it’s a different event or it’s the Olympics.

“I was always very proud to put on the Irish uniform and play as an amateur and as a boy, and I would be very proud to do it again.”

And also relieved to get this particular millstone off his shoulders and actually look forward to participating in an Olympic Games. “I think so. There’s no point in delaying it and letting it linger. And, as I said, watching the World Cup in Brazil, thinking about Brazil in a couple of years’ time, it just sort of got me thinking, maybe I should just go ahead and get it out of the way, and really look forward now to the Olympics in a couple years’ time.”

Irish Open: Tee Times

TODAY/TOMORROW

FIRST TEE

7.30am (12.30pm): J Doherty (Sco), A Saddier (Fr), V Riu (Fra).

7.40am (12.40pm): R Finch (Eng), JB Hansen (Den), J Walters (RSA).

7.50am (12.50pm): T Hatton (Eng), R Green (Aus), H Otto (RSA).

8am (1pm): T Van Der Walt (RSA), R Dinwiddie (Eng), G Stal (Fr).

8.10am (1.10pm): N Elvira (Sp), A Harto (Den), J Morrison (Eng).

8.20am (1.20pm): JB Kruger (RSA), S Khan (Eng), S Dodd (Wal).

8.30am (1.30pm): A Gee (Eng), C McNamara (Ire), L Slattery (Eng).

8.40am (1.40pm): G Storm (Eng), R Santos (Port), J Roos (RSA).

8.50am (1.50pm): H Wen-Yi (China), M Korhonen (Fin), W Ormsby (Aus).

9am (2pm): S Henry (Sco), J Heath (Eng), D Sugrue (Ire).

9.10am (2.10pm): A Kaleka (Fr), J Dantorp (Swe), G Hurley (Ire).

9.20am (2.20pm): C Del Moral (Sp), R McGee (Ire), T Lewis (Eng),.

9.30am (2.30pm): S Kim (Kor), J Knutzon (USA), G Shaw (Ire).

12.30pm (7.30am): T Levet (Fr), K Phelan (Ire), Jm Singh (Ind).

12.40pm (7.40am): A Quiros (Sp), M Hoey (Ire), M Siem (Ger).

12.50pm (7.50am): S Lowry (Ire), G McDowell (Ire), P Casey (Eng).

1pm (8am): B Grace (RSA), P McGinley (Ire), P Larrazabal (Sp).

1.10pm (8.10am): M Lundberg (Swe), P Lawrie (Ire), R Karlsson (Swe).

1.20pm (8.20am): G Maybin (Ire), A Canizaes (Sp), R Jacquelin (Fr).

1.30pm (8.30am): C Wood (Eng), M Masen (Den), F Aguila (Chile).

1.40pm (8.40am): R Ramsey (Sco), S Wakefield (Eng), R Gonzalez (Arg).

1.50pm (8.50am): D Huizing (Ned), D Mooney (Ire), A Otaegui (Sp).

2pm.(9am): G Havret (Fr), A Wall (Eng), C Lee (Sco).

2.10pm (9.10am): D Stewart (Sco), D Higgins (Ire), P Whiteford (Sco).

2.20pm (9.20am): M Nixon (Eng), E Dubois (Fr), M Staunton (Ire).

2.30pm (8.30am): B McGovern (Ire), J Campillo (Sp), R Bland (Eng).

10th TEE

12.30pm (7.30am): K Broberg (Swe), JF Lima (Port), E Grillo (Arg).

12.40pm (7.40am): R Rock (Eng), S Kjeldsen (Den), E Pepperell (Eng).

12.50pm (7.50am): A Pavan (It), S Walker (Eng), A Forsythe (Sco).

1pm (8am): D Brooks (Eng), J Quesne (Fr), M Crespi (It).

1.10pm (8.10am): D Willett (Eng), D Im (USA), S Jamieson (Sco).

1.20pm (8.20am): A Hansen (Den), S Webster (Eng), P Sjoland (Swe).

1.30pm (8.30am): D Drysdale (Sco), J Jeong (Kor), J Parry (Eng).

1.40pm (8.40am): P Waring (Eng), M Kieffer (Ger), D Horsey (Eng).

1.50pm (8.50am): B McElhinney (Ire), L Bjerregard (Den), MA Carlsson (Swe).

2pm (9am): D Howell (Eng), M Warren (Sco), E De La Riva (Sp).

2.10pm (9.10am): F Zanotti(Par), R Kakko (Fin), O Fisher (Eng).

2.20pm (9.20am): F Calmels (Fr), C Doak (Sco), D McElroy (Ire).

2.30pm (9.30am): A McArthur (Sco), J Carlsson (Swe), R Cannon (Ire).

7.30am (12.30pm): G Bourdy (Fr), D Fichardt (RSA), G Porteous (Eng).

7.40am (12.40pm): P Lawrie (Sco), T Fleetwood (Eng), M Fitzpatrick (Eng).

7.50am (12.50pm): R McIlroy (Ire), S Gallacher (Sco), P Harrington (Ire).

8am (1pm): R Fisher (Eng), D Clarke (Ire), M Manassero (It).

8.10am (1.10pm): R Cabrera Bello (Sp), JM Olazabal (Sp), M Ilonen (Fin).

8.20am (1.20pm): A Levy (Fr), D McGrane (Ire), S Hansen (Den).

8.30am (1.30pm): B Rumford (Aus), S Dyson (Eng), S Thornton (Ire).

8.40am (1.40pm): E Molinari (It), G Bhullar (Ind), R Wattel (Fr).

8.50am (1.50pm): JG Kelly (Ire), J McClean (Sc), B Paolini (USA).

9am (2pm): S Manley (Wal), M Foster (Eng), M Miller (USA).

9.10am (2.10pm): E Goya (Arg), E Brady (ire), J Hahn (USA).

9.20am (2.20pm): A Sullivan (Eng), L Hao-tang (China), M Baldwin (Eng).

9.30am (2.30pm): G Moynihan (Ire), S Kapur (Ind), T Pietars (Bel).