Rory McIlroy missed out on an Olympic medal this weekend in Paris and he’s been giving his verdict on the event as a whole.
McIlroy played well in his final round and put a run of five successive birdies together at one point before finding the water and halting his progress.
Nevertheless, it was a welcome return to form for McIlroy after a disappointing show at The Open.
For McIlroy, winning a medal would have meant a lot and while he was pleased to see Tommy Fleetwood land a silver, he’ll be disappointed with himself.
Still, it was a positive enough experience in Paris for McIlroy one he feels is not far off from being up there with the Ryder Cup.
Rory McIlroy makes Ryder Cup comparison after just missing a medal at the Olympics
Speaking to the media after his round of 66 wasn’t quite enough for a medal, McIlroy admitted that he’d still very much enjoyed the Olympic experience.
“Amazing. We were talking about it out there and Nico reckons it’s the best tournament he’s ever been involved in, and he’s played a Ryder Cup,” McIlroy said.
“I still think that the Ryder Cup is the best tournament that we have in our game, pure competition, and I think this has the potential to be right up there with it. I think with how much of a s**t show the game of golf is right now and you think about the two tournaments that might be the purest form of competition in our sport, we don’t play for money in it.
“So it speaks volumes for what’s important in sports and what’s important, I think every single player this week has had an amazing experience.”
McIlroy’s comments here seem to echo those of a lot of golf fans around the world.
The last two years has seen the sport become dominated by talk of money, with LIV’s influence on the game bringing that element to the table.
Hopefully, this is the start of Olympic golf having an even bigger platform in four years’ time.
McIlroy, of course, will be hoping to get the nod to represent Ireland once more.
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