Rory McIlroy is backing Bryson DeChambeau and LIV Golf stars for Olympic qualification. Read more below 👇
Rory McIlroy hasn’t been shy about his mixed feelings about the Olympics and is unhappy that some of LIV Golf’s biggest stars won’t be in Paris this week.
McIlroy has been one of the most vocal critics of the Saudi-funded tournaments that launched in 2022 after many top players left the PGA Tour. Tensions between the tours have eased over time and merger talks are ongoing after a framework agreement was reached last year and McIlroy significantly softened his stance on the issue.
However, the state of the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) continues to be the subject of much debate. Bryson DeChambeau and Cam Smith will be forced to watch from home, which means players won’t earn ranking points for participating in league events. Related article: Sky Sports golf commentator warned over “sexist” on-air comments
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As a result, LIV players have dropped in the rankings and several big names and recent major champions have missed out on qualifying for the Olympic golf tournament, which begins Thursday at Le Golf National, site of the 2018 Ryder Cup.
LIV players such as two-time major winner Jon Rahm are also taking part, but stars from the US and Australia are absent. US Open champion DeChambeau is undoubtedly one of the top five players on the planet, but the US team will be represented by Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa.
Northern Irishman McIlroy, who opted to represent Ireland over Great Britain in his Olympic debut in 2021, lamented the absence of some of the world’s best players in Paris as he held his pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday. For the latest US news, politics, sport and showbiz, check out The Mirror US.
But he insisted winning a medal this week would still mean a lot to him, despite previously criticising the addition of golf to the Olympics and saying he was “infuriated” at being forced to choose between Team Ireland and Team Great Britain. “It’s hard to say (whether the Olympics will be like a major) because the way the qualifying system works, you’re not going to have all the best players in the world here even this week,” McIlroy said. “If you’re going to win something really prestigious in sports, you want all the best players to play, and that’s not what’s happening here.” “It’s still very important and if I can win a medal, especially a gold medal, it would mean a lot to me. I was so close to winning a medal last time – I said I’ve never worked so hard in my life and finished third – so when you’re out there and especially fighting for a medal, you’re in a rush and it’s really cool.”
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McIlroy has only played two tournaments in the past month and will be underprepared for the tournament. He tied for fourth at the Scottish Open but missed out on qualifying for the British Open Championship at Royal Troon less than two weeks later.
“I didn’t play the British Open weekend so obviously I had more time on my hands than I would have liked but it’s good to be here and on a golf course that’s given me so many fond memories of the Ryder Cup so many years ago,” he said.