McIlroy and Lowry on American absences and what a gold medal in Paris would mean to them

GOLDEN AIM: Team Ireland's Rory McIlroy, right, and Shane Lowry. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

For better, for worse. Sure, it is a different competition and a scorching climate, but when the Olympics added golf to the programme, it brought all the baggage that came with it. 

That means Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry are talking about its place alongside majors, the Ryder Cup and LIV.

Temperatures at the Paris course of Le Golf National are at 32 degrees and headed upwards. Shane Lowry is coming off the back of disappointment at the British Open amidst dreadful conditions at Royal Troon in Scotland.

Rory McIlroy failed to make the cut. He subsequently spent time preparing at the legendary Old Course at St Andrews. A social media clip of a jovial interaction with an American fan emerged earlier this week. 

“Not going to love us next year,” McIlroy jested, a nod to the upcoming 2025 Ryder Cup. The reason for that round was purely practice. The reason for the location is out of bounds.

“None of your business why I was there but it is always nice to play St Andrews,” McIlroy replied when asked.

“Yeah, it was good. I wasn't expecting quite the crowd on the last few holes that we got but yeah, it was good. That was the first game of golf I've had since Troon. I thought at least one game of golf before I got here was probably beneficial.” 

Attention quickly turns to Bryson. US Open champion DeChambeau is not here and is disappointed about it. He was due to don USA colours in Tokyo but had to withdraw due to a positive COVID test.

As a LIV Golf player, he finds himself ninth in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), behind Americans Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa. There was little sympathy amongst Team Ireland.

“The American Team is a hard team to make,” said Lowry bluntly.

“You watch other sports, that's the way it is. If you don't run the time and don't qualify, you're not in. You watch the American nationals, it's the biggest race of the year, the Jamaican nationals in the sprint. If they run a bad race, even though they might be one of the best in the world, they are not here competing.

“I know we are not used to that in golf; that the biggest events have the best fields. But you know, there is a few players maybe that would make it better, but it's still the Olympics and we've all qualified to play for our country and we're all here to win a medal.” 

The inquiries keep coming. Is the field strong enough for the event? Might there be a different way of determining qualification?

“I don't think there's any other way to do it because it's hard to compare the golf that they play to the golf that we play,” said McIlroy. “That is the reason they didn't get World Ranking points, right.

“So if you want to qualify for the Olympics, you knew what you had to do. Just like if you wanted to qualify for the Ryder Cup, you knew what you had to do. They were very aware of the decision they made when they did.” 

A gold medal here might not rank up there with the game’s four traditional majors, but context is key. McIlroy is at a peculiar point of his career. He suffered a bronze medal play-off defeat in Toyko. This would mean something.

“It would be the achievement, certainly of the year if not… I think for me, it's well documented that I haven't won one of the Big Four in ten years. It would probably be one if, if not the biggest in my career for the last ten years.” 

In Lowry’s mind, it is a chance at redemption. He said as much as soon as he left Troon.

“Straightaway after that, I sort of felt like I have a chance to redeem myself here in a couple of weeks.

“For me, look, if you look at the media and what it was like back home yesterday when Mona won that Bronze Medal, I think if I was to win a Gold Medal and bring it back to Ireland, yeah, it would be pretty cool.” 

McIlroy also offered his support to recent suggestions that the 2028 Games in L.A. could include a mixed event. For now, he is fully focused on succeeding at a place he knows well. The 2018 Ryder Cup was played at the same venue. It is a challenging course that can demand golfers use every single club in the bag. Quite the PGA setup with big, fast greens and thick, unforgiving rough.

A final lob to Rory. Is it as thick as it was in 2018?

“Ask the Americans. I wasn't in it much that week.”