Annika Sorenstam discuss change in top golfers’ attitudes to Olympics, cites Rory McIlroy’s participation as an example

President of the International Golf Federation Annika Sorenstam recently discussed the change in the attitude of top golfers toward the Olympics. The men's golf competition will start in a few hours and is scheduled from Thursday, August 1, to Sunday, August 4, at Le Golf National.

The women's event at the 2024 Olympics will take place a week later from August 7 to 10 at the same venue. While talking to SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio, Sorenstam said:

"I know Rory didn't play in the first year when we were in Rio, but after that it was like he totally changed tune and I remember also Rickie Fowler. He was all in from the beginning. He even has a tattoo. Yeah and I think Lexi Thompson does as well."

Rory Mcllroy didn't participate in the 2016 Rio Olympics and reasoned his absence to the Zika virus scare. However, he participated in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and came very close to winning a bronze. In a recent interview with BBC Sport NI, Mcllroy said that if he wins a gold medal at the Paris Olympics it'll be one of the biggest achievements of his career in the last decade.

Rickie Fowler finished tied at 37th in the Rio Olympics whereas Lexi Thompson finished T19 in 2016 and 33rd in 2020. Annika Sorenstam further said that a good field makes people understand the significance of the event.

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Annika Sorenstam said that growing Olympics will benefit 'this generation and the next generation'

In an interview with SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio, President of the International Golf Federation Annika Sorenstam further talked about how participating in the Olympics is in everyone's interest.

Annika Sorenstam said:

"I know the ladies have always supported it and it seems like that's always the case. They've always had the best players, the best field, the interest and it's always been like a bucket list for many."

Annika Sorenstam said that participating in the Olympics and representing one's country is a significant achievement. She said that it also promotes the sport globally. She criticized players who make it about themselves and said:

"I mean, if everybody can be part of this and grow this together, it benefits, you know, this generation and the next generation and inspiration. So, but you've seen that the field has, even on the men's side now, has, you know, they've kind of changed their attitude a little bit."

The 60 players with the highest OWGR rank to the lowest in the Olympic field are as follows:

• Scottie Scheffler: 1
• Xander Schauffele: 2
• Rory McIlroy: 3
• Ludvig Åberg: 4
• Wyndham Clark: 5
• Collin Morikawa: 6
• Viktor Hovland: 7
• Hideki Matsuyama: 12
• Tommy Fleetwood: 14
• Tom Kim: 20
• Matt Fitzpatrick: 22
• Matthieu Pavon: 23
• Shane Lowry: 28
• Jason Day: 29
• Byeong Hun An: 32
• Min Woo Lee: 36
• Corey Conners: 38
• Alex Noren: 51
• Nick Taylor: 44
• Christiaan Bezuidenhout: 46
• Thomas Detry: 57
• Stephan Jaeger: 54
• Nicolai Højgaard: 53
• Erik van Rooyen: 69
• Emiliano Grillo: 67
• Ryan Fox: 66
• Adrian Meronk: 77
• Thorbjørn Olesen: 85
• C.T. Pan: 97
• Keita Nakajima: 94
• Sami Valimaki: 110
• Joaquin Niemann: 114
• Kevin Yu: 118
• Yechun Yuan: 176
• Shubhankar Sharma: 177
• Daniel Hillier: 179
• Adrien Dumont de Chassart: 213
• Camilo Villegas: 208
• Nico Echavarria: 292
• Carlos Ortiz: 272
• Gavin Green: 277
• Kiradech Aphibarnrat: 279
• Abraham Ancer: 357
• Fabrizio Zanotti: 353
• Mito Pereira: 341
• Rafa Campos: 264
• Kristoffer Ventura: 266
• David Puig: 132
• Guido Migliozzi: 131
• Matteo Manassero: 146
• Matthias Schmid: 147
• Tapio Pulkkanen: 427
• Zecheng Dou: 393
• Joel Girrbach: 372
• Gaganjeet Bhullar: 301
• Phachara Khongwatmai: 316