You probably heard: It's been 10 years since 26-time PGA Tour winner Rory McIlroy won his fourth major championship. After badly missing the cut at the Open Championship at Royal Troon, McIlroy can somewhat redeem his disappointing major year at the Paris Olympics.
The 2024 U.S. Open runner-up will vie for his first gold medal on behalf of Northern Ireland, beginning on Wednesday at Le Golf National.
“(A gold medal) would be the achievement, certainly of the year,” McIlroy said Tuesday.
McIlroy has helped lead Team Europe to five Ryder Cup victories — including at Le Golf National in 2018 — but he's never medaled in the Summer Games. (McIlroy participated in a seven-person playoff for the bronze in 2021 in Tokyo, ultimately won by C.T. Pan.)
“It would probably be one of, if not the biggest in my career for the last 10 years,” McIlroy added at his pre-Olympics press conference. “I'd say my focus is pretty high. The last time you guys saw me, I didn't give a very good account of myself at Troon. I want to make sure I'm right where I need to be teeing off on Thursday.”
Despite not winning a major, McIlroy has won twice on the PGA Tour in 2024, including with fellow Olympian and Ireland flag-bearer Shane Lowry at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He bounced back from his U.S. Open near-miss with with a top-5 at the Genesis Scottish Open prior to his Troon hiccup.
McIlroy hypothesized that the significance of a gold medal would only grow in estimation over time, as golf becomes more entrenched in the Summer Games. Paris marks only the third Olympics to feature the sport.
“I've been asked this question a lot, Where would an Olympic medal sit in sort of the hierarchy of my career achievements?” McIlroy said. “And it's something I probably won't be able to answer until when everything is said and done.
“I think as golf is in the Olympics for a longer period of time, it will become … I don't know if anything will be able to sit alongside the majors. We have our four events a year that are the gold standard. But I think this is going to be, in time, right up there amongst that.”
Soundtracked by some unexpected Ryder Cup-esque heckling, McIlroy prepared for Paris with a visit to the Old Course at St. Andrews over the weekend.
“None of your business why I was there,” McIlroy said. “But it's always nice to play St Andrews.
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.”
McIlroy will compete alongside PGA Tour stars Scottie Scheffler (USA) and Ludvig Aberg (Sweden) in the marquee group at Le Golf National. They'll tee off at 10:11 a.m. local time on Thursday at 12:06 p.m. on Friday.
The Olympics men's and women's golf competitions feature 60-person fields and traditional 72-hole lowest score format. Xander Schauffele and Nelly Korda are your respective gold medal winners.
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