Mcilroy somewhat wrong over Olympic golf

[Tashyboy]

Well it seems like Rory has admitted he was " somewhat wrong" over his decision to not playing in the Olympics. Says that the Golf was better supported than the Olympics, and that was part of his reason to say what he said.

Dont know if I am missing summat here, but the Olympics has got to be one of if not the largest tv viewing sports events on the calendar. whether it was rammed with spectators or not ( and most venues were not) for me is incidental. In a day and age when golf is struggling, here was a chance to put the biggest players in the world on the world stage in front of billions who have probably never seen a game of golf. Fortunately Rose and Stenson put on a stonking final round.

well at least he held his hands up.

 

[Tongo]

Well it seems like Rory has admitted he was " somewhat wrong" over his decision to not playing in the Olympics. Says that the Golf was better supported than the Olympics, and that was part of his reason to say what he said.

Dont know if I am missing summat here, but the Olympics has got to be one of if not the largest tv viewing sports events on the calendar. whether it was rammed with spectators or not ( and most venues were not) for me is incidental. In a day and age when golf is struggling, here was a chance to put the biggest players in the world on the world stage in front of billions who have probably never seen a game of golf. Fortunately Rose and Stenson put on a stonking final round.

well at least he held his hands up.

Indeed. Didn't he also put his hands up about his original comments regarding the Ryder Cup as well?

Fair play to him for doing that.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

It will be even better when he stops making the stupid statments in the first place. I don't want a robot speaking, Tiger Woods showed how dull that can be, but Rory is old enough and smart enough to think first before speaking and should answer with a bit more intelligence. However, I would agree that accepting you made an error rather than blindly blustering on is the right thing to do and so good on him.

 

[thesheriff]

He was wrong though I don't mind a player speaking his mind. It slightly annoys me that most sportspeople are also expected to behave PR reps and say what people want to hear rather than what they think.

Rory didn't think Olympic golf was a good idea so he said it, but turns out it was a great tournament. His comments gave us all something to talk about at least and I hope the episode doesn't deter him or others from speaking their minds.

I feel he is over criticised in the same way that Andy Murray. People don't seem to realise that they are sportspeople not PR agents

 

[Stegsie]

Fair play to him. Not often people admit when they were wrong (famous or not!) so hat's off to the lad.

 

[road2ruin]

Fair play for holding your hands up, nice to see someone admit a mistake.

That said, i'd be interested to see if the big four (Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy) attend next year's Florida swing given the Zika virus has been reported in a number of cases in the area. Obviously this was a cause for concern in the run up to the Olympics and given as a major reason not to attend and risk endangering their families health further down the line. I'm assuming that the $1-$2m winners cheques will make the disease a little less risky for those events and won't get a mention from these guys......

 

[351DRIVER]

Thing with the Olympics though is it is every 4 years, in 30 months time will we care?
Justin Rose will, but the greater audience that watched the Olympics?
By then we will have had 8 more majors a couple of Ryder cups and be waiting for the Masters ...

IMO, the olympics works for sports where the medals are seen as the PEAK for that sport, peoples memories fade fast and we will not be counting down to the 2020 games, instead we will count down to the Ryder Cup, The MASTERS, THE US OPEN etc...

IMO that is why golf does not work and sure everyone is chuffed right now, but lets see how much people care in 2 years

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Thing with the Olympics though is it is every 4 years, in 30 months time will we care?
Justin Rose will, but the greater audience that watched the Olympics?
By then we will have had 8 more majors a couple of Ryder cups and be waiting for the Masters ...

IMO, the olympics works for sports where the medals are seen as the PEAK for that sport, peoples memories fade fast and we will not be counting down to the 2020 games, instead we will count down to the Ryder Cup, The MASTERS, THE US OPEN etc...

IMO that is why golf does not work and sure everyone is chuffed right now, but lets see how much people care in 2 years

Maybe over time it could be bigger than a Major, become THE Major, reverseing your thinking there is currently only one professional Golfer alive with an Olympic Gold, there's no shortage of Major winners, between now and Tokyo we'll see up to another 16 Major winners and no more Olympic Gold medal holders.
Every other sport has annual World Championships, but still the Olympic Gold is what they want, unless Golf's establishment and players change the attitude then possibly you'll be correct.
For Tokyo (In theory) there'll be no excuses for players to turn down the chance to represent their Country in a world-wide individual event.
The Olympics offer an event that no other tournament does.

 

[fundy]

Anyone would think he was looking for a new sponsor with apologies like this (yes im that cynical lol)

 

[SugarPenguin]

I would rather Rory make a few daft comments here and there and speak honestly then all these robotic answers most tour pros drum up.

 

[351DRIVER]

Anyone would think he was looking for a new sponsor with apologies like this (yes im that cynical lol)

Should have said

I am disappointed I did not attend the Olympics as I missed out at being the Titleist

 

[hovis]

I think with career earnings of 200 million he wont be chasing a sponsorship detail as much as before.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

As much as I like his honesty for saying he was wrong, I think he needs to stop making these kind of statements to start with

 

[Wilson]

I would rather Rory make a few daft comments here and there and speak honestly then all these robotic answers most tour pros drum up.

Totally agree, Greg Norman said a great quote on his Champion Golfer program on Sky, it was advice from his Dad along the lines of - always tell the truth, even if people don't like, as that's what you felt at the time, and you'll never get caught out.

 

[Oohmeoldbacksknackered]

In the run up to the Olympics Rory tried to play the political game but having been pushed by the press he told the truth.
And all good kudos to him.
I agreed with him. It's only a contrived Olympic sport. It's not, and (IMNVHO) never will be the pinnacle of the game.
And as such is a waste of time for a professional.
Rose proved him wrong but I think Rory made the right choice (for him) at the time.(hindsight doesn't count)
I'm sure Rose will treasure his medal. But..
If some Korean no hoper had won, we'd all be saying it was a failure.

Ask Djokovic if he'd swap 4 years of Grand Slam earnings and titles for a £500 gold medal. It's nice, but how important is it really to these guys?

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Maybe over time it could be bigger than a Major, become THE Major, reverseing your thinking there is currently only one professional Golfer alive with an Olympic Gold, there's no shortage of Major winners, between now and Tokyo we'll see up to another 16 Major winners and no more Olympic Gold medal holders.
Every other sport has annual World Championships, but still the Olympic Gold is what they want, unless Golf's establishment and players change the attitude then possibly you'll be correct.
For Tokyo (In theory) there'll be no excuses for players to turn down the chance to represent their Country in a world-wide individual event.
The Olympics offer an event that no other tournament does.

The Olympics will never be regarded higher than a major let's be honest

Tennis has been in the Modern Olympics for over 30 years and still isn't regarded higher than the Slams - the same will be in Golf

And in regards the question of World Champs you mentioned - a lot of them have started after the Olympics - Athletics a prime example but still not seen higher than the Olympics

The Olympics in regards Golf will still be below the WGC and even some PGA events and players will look for ways to not play in it because of the schedule of the season already.

Would be very surprised to see it stay after Tokyo

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Think it depends where the 2024 olympics ends up. If it's the US (Los Angeles) or Paris, both of which have expressed an interest to bid, then I can see it staying as both would have the resources and suitable venues already in place.

 

[Tashyboy]

The Olympics will never be regarded higher than a major let's be honest

Tennis has been in the Modern Olympics for over 30 years and still isn't regarded higher than the Slams - the same will be in Golf

And in regards the question of World Champs you mentioned - a lot of them have started after the Olympics - Athletics a prime example but still not seen higher than the Olympics

The Olympics in regards Golf will still be below the WGC and even some PGA events and players will look for ways to not play in it because of the schedule of the season already.

Would be very surprised to see it stay after Tokyo

Not to sure Phil, thought the Rio Olympics were poor, competitors were as usual excellent but the games were poor. However the golf was fantastically supported. There is no way I can see that support dropping in a golf mad part of the world, ie the Far East. Especially when it comes to women's golf. The way the Japanese do things the course will look stunning, and the organisation will be second to none.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

The Olympics will never be regarded higher than a major let's be honest

Tennis has been in the Modern Olympics for over 30 years and still isn't regarded higher than the Slams - the same will be in Golf

And in regards the question of World Champs you mentioned - a lot of them have started after the Olympics - Athletics a prime example but still not seen higher than the Olympics

The Olympics in regards Golf will still be below the WGC and even some PGA events and players will look for ways to not play in it because of the schedule of the season already.

Would be very surprised to see it stay after Tokyo

That's why I said maybe Phil, 😃
If the Japanese get the marketing right, and let's be honest they love their Golf, then seeing as it sold out in Rio and had world-wide exposure it could be perceived as a huge success, can't see any reason for not keeping it in.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Not to sure Phil, thought the Rio Olympics were poor, competitors were as usual excellent but the games were poor. However the golf was fantastically supported. There is no way I can see that support dropping in a golf mad part of the world, ie the Far East. Especially when it comes to women's golf. The way the Japanese do things the course will look stunning, and the organisation will be second to none.

Thought the Rio Olympics were great - loved it , the excitement was superb and loved the newer sports like Rugby 7's - the crowds were always going to be an issue with the financial problems there.

The support in the Far East will have no bearing on the future because it's already in the Tokyo games and it will be the same level of field with many missing out. It's beyond the Tokyo games that will be the issue