Rory McIlroy slams LIV Golf as he joins Bryson DeChambeau in Olympics criticism

Rory McIlroy has expressed his belief that the Olympic golf tournament's prestige has been undermined by the absence of some of the world's top players, due to LIV Golf not being sanctioned by the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).

McIlroy was previously one of the most vocal critics of the Saudi Arabia-funded circuit, which was launched in 2022 and attracted numerous top players from the PGA Tour. However, tensions between the tours have eased over time, with merger discussions ongoing following a framework agreement reached last year. As a result, McIlroy's stance on the issue has notably softened.

Nonetheless, the state of the OWGR remains a significant point of discussion. Players such as Bryson DeChambeau and Cam Smith will be forced to watch from home , as LIV Golf players do not receive ranking points for participating in the league's events.

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As a consequence, LIV players have seen their rankings plummet, and several big names and recent major champions have failed to qualify for the Olympic golf event, which kicks off at Le Golf National, the host of the 2018 Ryder Cup on, Thursday, reports the Mirror .

While some LIV players, including two-time major champion Jon Rahm, are participating, stars from America and Australia have missed out. Despite being undoubtedly one of the top five players in the world, US Open champion DeChambeau will not be representing Team USA. Instead, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark, and Collin Morikawa will be donning the stars and stripes.

McIlroy , the native of Northern Ireland who notably chose to represent Ireland rather than Great Britain at the 2021 Olympics, has voiced his disappointment over some of golf's finest missing out on Paris during his pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday. Yet, he's dead set on the idea that snagging an Olympic medal would be a smashing success, even after previously casting doubt over golf's spot in the Olympics and expressing his "resentment" over having to pick a team.

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"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," McIlroy lamented.

"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. 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."

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Despite only being able to play in two events during the past month, Rory McIlroy is competing in the tournament.

"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," he said.

"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."

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