Rory McIlroy: Winning gold at Paris 2024 Olympic Games would be one of my 'biggest achievements' of last 10 years
Published 31/07/2024 at 10:15 GMT+1
Rory McIlroy will be competing for Team Ireland at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The four-time major winner says it would "mean a lot" to win a medal, having just missed out on a podium place in Tokyo three years ago. McIlroy, who hasn't won a major title in 10 years, is hoping for glory at the Games as he aims for a positive finish to his season. The golf will be played at Le Golf National.
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Rory McIlroy says winning an Olympic gold in Paris would be one of his "biggest achievements" of the last 10 years.
The 35-year-old will be competing in his second Olympics, having just missed out on a podium place in Tokyo.
He comes into the Games on the back of his US Open heartbreak, where he let a late lead slip to finish second, and missing the cut at The Open at Royal Troon.
He hasn’t won a major since the PGA Championship in 2014.
“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,” said Team Ireland’s McIlroy.
"I've obviously had a bit more time off than I wanted with not playing the weekend at The Open, but I'm excited to be here and at a golf course where I've got a lot of fond memories from the Ryder Cup a few years ago.
"And it's good to get back to playing in conditions that are a little bit more familiar. Obviously Troon was really, really difficult, but to be out here in the sunshine without a lot of wind feels really nice."
McIlroy just missed out on a medal three years ago as he finished in a tie for fourth in the individual event.
"I was really close to winning a medal last time – I said I'd never tried as hard to finish third in my life – so once you're in there and especially if you are in contention for a medal, you feel the buzz of it and it's really cool," he added.
The golf event at the Games will feature almost all of the top players in the world.
The only two players from the top 10 missing when the men's four-day, 72-hole competition starts on Thursday will be Patrick Cantlay and Bryson DeChambeau, who both didn’t qualify as there are four other USA golfers above them in the rankings.
McIlroy said: "It's hard to say [whether the Olympics 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.
"It's still very meaningful and if I were to win a medal, especially a gold medal, it would mean a lot to me."
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Dejected McIlroy walks out after watching DeChambeau win US Open
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The golf will be played at Le Golf National, the venue for the Ryder Cup in 2018.
McIlroy, who was part of the victorious European team six years ago, is looking for a strong showing at the Olympics as he aims to finish the season well.
"It’s been a pretty good season, albeit coming off the disappointment of Troon, but there are still a lot of big events to play – here, then trying to finish off strongly in America with the FedEx Cup and then finish off strongly in Europe and win the Race to Dubai as well.
"There's the Irish Open at Royal County Down which I can’t wait for. We last played there in 2015 and I didn’t play very well, so I want to go back home and give a better account of myself.
"The majors have come and gone but I’ve still got a good eight to 10 tournaments left, and I obviously want to finish the year off on a positive note."
discovery+ is the streaming home of the Olympic Games, and the only place you can watch every moment of Paris 2024 this summer
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