Rory McIlroy Announces He’ll be Team Ireland at Rio 2016
Rory McIlroy has said he will play for Ireland at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. The Northern Irishman had to choose between representing Great Britain and Ireland, but stated his final decision was one he felt confident about as he always represented Ireland during his amateur career.
McIlroy made the announcement at a press conference ahead of today’s Irish Open start at Fota Island in Cork.
“I played junior golf for Ireland, I played amateur golf for Ireland. Just because I am getting paid to play this great game now, it doesn’t mean things should change,” McIlroy told reporters. “It’s a decision I feel comfortable with and I’ll be proud to represent Ireland in 2016. I’m 100% sure it’s the right decision for me and I hope people respect my decision.”
With golf being a part of the Olympics for the first time since 1904, Rio is sure to bring out the best golfers in the game today. Fellow countryman Graeme McDowell will be joining McIlroy in Team Ireland’s bid to reach the medal race.
But for now, the young Nike player is focused on making the cut off this weekend at the Irish Open. A tournament that got off to a rocky start for McIlroy after United Airlines “misplaced” his clubs on a flight from Newark, New Jersey earlier this week. After taking to Twitter to address the issue with the airline, McIlroy and his clubs were reunited in the nick of time.
Even with his beloved clubs back in hand, first round action for McIlroy wasn’t great, as the golfer carded 6 bogeys and 3 birdies to finish today at 3-over 74. The world number 6 is hoping tomorrow will be a better day on the golf course.
“I was pretty sloppy with the scoring clubs so I might head to the range to work on those,” McIlroy stated after today’s round. “I need to do better tomorrow to be here for the weekend.”
