Rory McIlroy has admitted he felt "resentment" towards the Olympics due to the tricky situation it put him in regarding which country he would represent.
The winner of four major championships is currently preparing for his second appearance at the Games , where he will be representing Team Ireland in Paris. His first Olympic outing was three years ago in Tokyo, where he narrowly missed out on a medal for Ireland, falling short in the bronze play-off.
Ahead of the 2021 Games, there was much discussion about his international allegiance - with the victor of 26 PGA Tour events eligible to represent both Ireland and Great Britain. Born in County Down, the 35-year-old ultimately chose to represent Ireland, having previously done so at junior and amateur levels.
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His Northern Irish roots put him in a challenging position, with McIlroy confessing that he agonized over which path to take. He skipped the Olympics in 2016 when golf returned as an event for the first time since 1904, seemingly avoiding making a firm decision on his loyalties.
Reflecting on the intense scrutiny he faced after the Rio Games, McIlroy opened up to the Sunday Independent: "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," and shared his candid thoughts about how he felt at that time. "That's my feelings toward it. And whether that's right or wrong, that's how I feel."
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McIlroy's change of heart regarding the Olympics became evident as he spoke positively about his Tokyo experience, stating, "I needed to do a lot of inner thought and sort of... Is this important to me?'
"Why do I want to play it [The Olympics]? Who do I want to represent? All that sort of stuff," before ultimately expressing his satisfaction with participating in the Games: "It's a wonderful experience. I've never done anything like that before.
"So at the end of the day, I think with where golf is, with it being part of the Olympic movement, I think if I had to look back on my career and not played in one [Olympic Games], I probably would have regretted it."
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