Rory McIlroy said "he resented how the Olympics forced him to decide whether he would represent Ireland or Britain and that it reached a point that it 'wasn't worth the hassle' to compete in Rio de Janeiro," according to the LONDON TIMES. In an interview with the Irish Independent, McIlroy explained why he was "so critical of golf's return to the Olympics" during a press conference at last summer's British Open. McIlroy cited "concerns over the Zika virus as his reason not to go to Rio." He said that when the IOC announced in '09 that golf would be part of the program for the first time since '04, "All of a sudden it put me in a position where I had to question who I am. Who am I? Where am I from? Where do my loyalties lie? Who am I going to play for? Who do I not want to [upset] the most? I started to resent it. And I do. I resent the Olympic Games because of the position it put me in. That's my feelings toward it. And whether that's right or wrong, that's how I feel." McIlroy said he sent a text message to Justin Rose to congratulate him on winning the Gold Medal in Rio for Britain. He said Rose thanked him and asked if McIlroy felt as though he had "missed out." McIlroy: "I said, 'Justin, if I had been on the podium [listening] to the Irish national anthem as that flag went up, or the British national anthem as that flag went up, I would have felt uncomfortable either way'" (LONDON TIMES, 1/9).
NO ENVY: The BBC reported McIlroy said that "he does not envy the profile of fellow former world" No. 1 Tiger Woods. McIlroy lives in Florida and "regularly plays rounds with" Woods, and he says he would "gladly accept less success if it means maintaining a more normal life" away from the course. McIlroy: "I've played golf with him and said, 'What are you doing tonight? Do you want to come and have dinner with us?' And he can't. For me, that's unfathomable. I could not live like that" (BBC, 1/9).
