Rory McIlroy has hinted that winning gold at the Olympics could ease his ten-year pain at major championships.
McIlroy’s last golfing major victory came in August 2014 when he won his second PGA Championship title.
This year’s US Open was arguably the closest he has come to ending such a drought but it unfortunately ended in heartbreak.
McIlroy led by two shots with five holes to play but bogeyed three of the last four, with Bryson DeChambeau going on to claim the title.
It’s a collapse that the Northern Irishman described as ‘probably the toughest’ day of his career, but Olympic success could end the hurt.
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Speaking via the Daily Telegraph on what it would mean to win gold in Paris this summer, he said: “It would be the achievement of my year.
“It’s well documented that I haven’t won one of the ‘Big Four’ in ten years. It would probably be one, if not the biggest in my career for the last decade.”
He added: “I’ve been asked this question a lot, where would an Olympic medal sit in sort of the hierarchy of my career achievements? And it’s something I probably won’t be able to answer until when everything is said and done.
“I think as golf is in the Olympics for a longer period of time, it will become bigger. We have our four events a year that are the gold standard, but in time, this is going to be right up there amongst that.”
McIlroy will represent Team Ireland in Paris in his second appearance at the Olympics after finishing joint-fourth at the Tokyo 2020 games.
He will take to the men’s 72-hole competition that stretches over four days at Le Golf National, beginning on Thursday.
The 35-year-old has been grouped with Scottie Scheffler, who won the Masters in April, and they are due to get underway at 9:11am UK time.
McIlroy was spotted preparing for the Olympics at St Andrews on Monday, with his presence attracting a number of eager fans.
He will be joined by his close friend Shane Lowry for Team Ireland in the French capital this week as they both set their sights on a medal.
It’s golf’s third appearance at the Olympics since 2016 when it was reintroduced to the scheduling following a 112-year absence.
Team GB’s Justin Rose won gold in the men’s tournament at Rio 2016, with the USA’s Xander Schauffele doing so in Tokyo four years later.
A gold medal would certainly be a big addition to McIlroy’s already impressive CV and surely restore his confidence at big events ahead of next year’s majors.
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- Rory McIlroy makes Olympic gold medal admission after ten-year major drought
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