Rory McIlroy says golf at the Olympics doesn’t matter

In the end, the two-time major victor said he chose what he thought was best for his future in pulling out of the upcoming Summer Olympics in Brazil.

Fire upon fire. Rory McIlroy lit up Royal Troon on Tuesday in a dramatic press conference where he ripped the entire idea of golf in the Olympics.

“I didn’t get into golf to try and grow the game”, said the Northern Irishman, a four-time major victor.

Redgrave said the International Olympic Committee and British Olympic Association had advised athletes that it was safe to go.

She added: “I was aware of a pledge that was signed by all the top golfers”. Nobody’s going to understand what it’s like in my shoes. As you can see, a lot of golfers are trying to decide for themselves.

Spieth is the latest top golfer to withdraw from the games after the likes of McIlroy, Jason day and South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel pull out, citing health concerns. “I will not place them at risk”. It won’t make me any less happy.

With Rickie Fowler’s commitment on Sunday, that leaves the US with Fowler, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson and Matt Kuchar.

“I do sympathise with the guys who are at that phase of their lives where either their wives are pregnant or having children in the future”.

“But you’ve got to respect their position. You’re just going to be jealous when I get the gold”.

“I was pretty sure all along I wanted to go play unless the threat would have gotten worse, then it would have been a very different story”. Others include Adam Scott Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson.

“Maybe I’ll cause enough of a stir that Rory’ll turn it back over to golf at some point”, Fowler said.

Many felt this was going too far on McIlroy’s part, and Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee, who has had his battles with McIlroy in the past, was one of them.

And Khodabakhsh has stressed his disappointment at how players in the men’s game have conducted themselves.

Apparently, McIlroy wasn’t feeling almost as torn as Spieth about his choice to not be an Olympian.

Northern Irishman McIlroy, 27, said golf is “all about the four majors” and “that’s the way it should stay”, but that he would consider competing at Tokyo in 2020.

Mcllroy believes drug testing in golf is considerably behind other sports, although he acknowledged performance-enhancing drug use is less prevalent in comparison.

However, McIlroy, who is six shots off the lead after the first day of the Open, has tried to elaborate more on his comment that he “didn’t get into golf to try to grow the game”.

She called McIlroy’s comments “unacceptable” and said he had shown a “lack of appreciation for how the Olympics can transcend an individual sport”. “But, look, I get where different people come from, and different people have different opinions”. Asked what kept him out of the Olympics, the 22-year-old Texan would only say that it was personal and anyone in his shoes would have made the same choice.