Rory McIlroy was spotted playing St Andrews ahead of the Olympics, and the Northern Irishman has now shed light on his trip to the home of golf.
McIlroy played the Old Course on Monday and was also involved in a jovial altercation with an American fan on the 18th hole.
The four-time major winner has since made the short trip to Paris and has been playing alongside Shane Lowry as he prepares to represent Ireland at Le Golf National.
McIlroy has now been quizzed on his trip to Scotland’s east coast, and the Northern Irishman delivered a spiky response.
Rory McIlroy gets spiky when asked about St Andrews trip
McIlroy was asked – reasonably – why he was at St Andrews just days before the Olympic event gets underway.
The journalist said: “Chance to play the Old Course, but why did you play yesterday, and can you talk about the ribbing you had with the Americans as you walked up 18?”
The 35-year-old offered a bullish response. “Yeah, none of your business why I was there but it’s always nice to play St Andrews,” said McIlroy.
He went on to admit his surprise at the number of people who had turned out to see him.
“Yeah, it was good,” he added. “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.”
An odd response from Rory McIlroy
When a player of McIlroy’s calibre and fame spontaneously visits the home of golf, journalists are within their right to ask why he was there. Of course, McIlroy is allowed to keep information to himself, but telling the reporter it’s “none of his business” feels a bit steep.
There were far better ways to get around the questioning.
For this week’s Olympic event, McIlroy will be looking to go one better after finishing in an agonising fourth spot at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
The Le Golf National event could prove an important momentum booster for McIlroy as the end-of-season PGA Tour playoffs approach.
A positive performance this week would quickly see his miserable Open Championship outing forgotten about, and Golf Channel pundit Rex Hoggard has backed the world number three to bounce back.
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