Even though Rory McIlroy’s watery demise on the par-4 15th hole ultimately sealed his fate, leaving him short of a medal, the Ulsterman still had an “amazing” week in Paris.
He likened this year’s Olympics to the Ryder Cup, McIlroy’s favorite tournament on the planet. Of course, McIlroy helped lead Team Europe to a resounding Ryder Cup win at Le Golf National in 2018, so the comparison is easier to make. But the national pride, camaraderie, and the large number of passionate fans sure made the Olympics look more like the Ryder Cup than anything else.
“I still think that the Ryder Cup is the best tournament in our game; it’s pure competition,” McIlroy said after his final round.
“I think this has the potential to be right up there with it. I think with how much of a shit 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.”
Neither the Ryder Cup nor the Olympics offer a payday, which sparked some controversy last year in Rome amid Patrick Cantlay’s ‘hat-gate.’ But the PGA Tour and LIV Golf certainly offer plenty of cash. In recent years, dozens of players have flocked to the Saudi-backed circuit for millions of dollars. Heck, Jon Rahm reportedly joined LIV Golf for north of $400 million last December.
That influx of money from the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), LIV Golf’s beneficiary, forced the PGA Tour to create Signature Events, limited-field tournaments with hefty $20 million purses. The tour also created the Player Impact Program (PIP), which offers even more money to top-ranked players based on their popularity.
Other tournaments, including the major championships, have raised their prizes, too, amid golf’s current schism between the tour and LIV Golf.
But McIlroy emphasized how this week was special, not because of the financial ramifications but because of the passion and patriotism.
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“It speaks volumes for what’s important in sports and what’s important,” McIlroy said.
“Every player this week has had an amazing experience.”
McIlroy added that this was one of the best individual competitions he had played in.
“I think just the atmosphere,” McIlroy said when asked why this was such a great week.
“Even standing on the 16th tee and watching 18 and seeing [Frenchman] Victor Perez come up 18 and how he was serenaded by the French crowds. We don’t get that any other place we play, maybe apart from the Ryder Cup. So yeah, I just thought it was an incredible atmosphere and environment to play in, and I think everyone in the field had a blast.”
The lack of COVID-19 restrictions also helped create an incredible atmosphere.
“I think just this has been my first Games where it’s felt like an Olympic Games, I guess. We weren’t able to interact with any other athletes in Tokyo because of COVID,” McIlroy said.
“It’s felt really cool to be able to go to some of the other events, to feel the spirit of the Olympics and what it’s all about, and to have dozens of athletes come from all over the world to compete in their individual sports.”
Men’s golf at the Olympics will return in 2028, when Riviera in Los Angeles will host some of the best male and female players in the world. McIlroy believes that 72-hole individual stroke play is the best format for determining an individual champion. Still, he does have an idea on how to involve team play and make the Olympics even better.
“If they wanted to do a two-day team competition, and we played for six days, I’d be all for that,” McIlroy said.
“But in terms of the individual Gold Medal, I don’t think there’s a better way to determine a champion than 72-hole stroke play.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
