Rory McIlroy has revealed that he has “had to get over” his previous dislike of the Olympics, and says he would now love to win gold for Ireland.
The Co Down golfer had struggled with a decision over whether to represent Ireland or Great Britain in the past.
Speaking ahead of this week’s Open championship at Troon, he told the Guardian: “I had a sense of resentment towards the Olympics because I had always tried to stay so neutral and it presented me with this option of, what are you going to do?
“I had to get over that. All of my amateur career I played for Ireland. I was very proud to play for Ireland. So why would I do anything differently as a professional?
“Tokyo felt like a throwback to the amateur days. All the federations were there. Seeing people from the amateur game who I hadn’t seen for decades.
“I really enjoyed the experience and I’m sure Paris will be even better because I’ll get to go to some of the other events. It’s a bit like the Ryder Cup, I made comments before I had experienced it. I am excited to go back.”
Rory McIlroy
The 35-year-old had both criticised and missed out on the 2016 Games in Rio, when golf had returned to the Olympics for the first time in over a century.
Covering his eyes when asked about those comments this week, he admitted that his reasoning behind his words then was because he felt torn between choosing to represent Ireland or GB.
However, he will don the green and white for Ireland at the Paris Games next month, and added: “It would be incredibly special for me as an individual to have a gold medal.
“I would be unbelievably proud to get any medal in Paris. A gold medal would be one of the proudest moments of my career.”
He also revealed that after his disastrous finish in the US Open, Rafa Nadal and Michael Jordan had been in contact.
“MJ was maybe the first person to text me after I missed the putt on the 18th but both of them got in touch very, very quickly. They just told me to keep going. MJ reminded me of how many game-winning shots he missed. Really nice.”