“Not all the best players in the world are here” - Rory McIlroy doubts Olympic golf's quality, dubs it 'hard to say' if it replicates the majors

Rory McIlroy missed the 2016 Rio Olympics due to a Zika Virus scare. He represented Northern Ireland at the 2020 games in Tokyo, where he narrowly missed out on a bronze medal. Now, the PGA Tour star is returning to Olympic golf in Paris but remains doubtful of the event’s position in the sports hierarchy.

McIlroy thinks it is ‘hard to say’ if the Olympic golf tournament will ever be on par with a major championship like The Masters, US PGA, US Open and The Open. The 35-year-old opined that the event’s qualification system works differently and the international event doesn’t have “all the best players in the world.”

However, the World No.3 golfer noted that the games will ‘become a greater part of the sport’ as time goes on.

Speaking to BBC Sport NI about Olympics golf, Rory McIlroy said, as quoted by the publication:

“It's hard to say (whether Olympic Golf will become like a major), as even this week, the way the qualification system works, not all the best players in the world are here… You'd like to think that if you're going to win something really prestigious in the sport then you want all the best players playing and that isn't quite happening here.”

Despite the thought, McIlroy underlined that he wishes to win the gold medal this weekend. The four-time major champion, set to tee off at Le Golf National on Thursday for Team Ireland alongside Shane Lowry, said it was “still very meaningful” and a medal “would mean a lot” to him.

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Rory McIlroy says an Olympic gold will be ‘one of the biggest achievements’

McIlroy arrived at Le Golf National in Paris on Monday for the 2024 Paris Olympics after a practice round on the Old Course at St Andrews. The golfer, who took a holiday to Portugal with his family after The Open at Royal Troon, is set on a maiden Olympic gold medal.

The 26-time PGA Tour winner admitted that a win in Paris would be ‘one of the biggest achievements’ of his career in the last 10 years.

Rory McIlroy told BBC Sport NI:

“For me it’s well documented I haven’t won one of the big four in 10 years so it (a gold medal in Paris) would be one of, if not the biggest, achievements of my career in the last 10 years.”

Notably, the golfer also shed light on his narrow miss of the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Addressing the same, the two-time PGA Championship winner said that he’d ‘never tried as hard to finish third in his life.’

For the unversed, Rory McIlroy has had a mixed season so far. The Northern Irishman comes to the Olympics on the back of a missed cut at The Open. However, he’d earlier finished second at the US Open and had won the Wells Fargo Championship, which complements his form this season.