Rory McIlroy aimed a fresh dig at his American rivals ahead of representing Ireland at the Paris Olympics. Golf was reintroduced to the Games in Rio 2016, with McIlroy now hopeful of sealing a gold medal.
The 35-year-old was filmed poking fun at American fans during a surprise visit to St. Andrew’s last week. He has now mocked his US rivals for ending up in the rough several times at the 2018 Ryder Cup.
McIlroy and his fellow golfers will compete for Olympic medals at Le Golf National, which hosted the Ryder Cup six years ago. Team Europe won 17.5 to 10.5, and McIlroy was asked if the length of the rough would compare to that tournament.
He brutally quipped: “Ask the Americans. I wasn’t in [the rough] much that week.”
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It is the second dig McIlroy has made at Americans recently. He made a surprise appearance at St. Andrews earlier in the week to enjoy a round of golf, stunning fans in the local area.
In one clip posted to social media, one individual can be heard shouting at McIlroy: “New York loves you, the Bronx baby, the Bronx.” In response, McIlroy joked, “You’re not gonna love us next year!”
He was making reference to the 2025 Ryder Cup.
Meanwhile, McIlroy believes it could take a while before golf at the Olympics will be on par with winning any of the sport’s four major championships. He has not won a major title in over a decade, but admits that it would mean a lot to travel home from Paris with a gold medal.
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He said ahead of competing in Paris: "As time goes on, as the Olympics become a greater part of our sport, it will mean more to the sport.”
But McIlroy added: "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."
