Rory McIlroy’s comments about Olympic Games speak volumes about major heartache

Rory McIlroy has opened up about his ambition for the Paris Olympics after failing to win his fifth major title. The golfing star is aiming to put his recent disappointments behind him by winning an Olympic medal for Team Ireland.

The 35-year-old narrowly missed clinching his fifth major title at the US Open in June, suffering a heart-wrenching defeat as two pivotal putts on the final holes slipped away, handing victory to Bryson DeChambeau. After taking time off to regroup ahead of The Open, McIlroy's plans went awry as he failed to make the cut at Royal Troon, missing out on the third day of action.

Despite the setbacks, McIlroy is setting his sights on Olympic success, embracing the chance to represent Team Ireland in Paris. He got off to a decent start on the first day in Paris, finishing on three under, which left him in 15th at the time of writing. While some may question the prestige of Olympic golf, which was absent from the Games for over a century until its return in 2016, McIlroy shared his thoughts on the importance of the competition ahead of his opening round.

When quizzed about the significance of an Olympic medal, McIlroy said: "It would be the achievement, certainly of the year. I think for me, it's well documented that I haven't won one of the big four in 10 years. It would probably be one of, if not the biggest in my career for the last 10 years."

This marked McIlroy's fourth runner-up finish in majors since his 2014 PGA Championship win. With the four-day Olympic event getting underway in Paris on Thursday, McIlroy is keen to demonstrate that his poor showing at Royal Troon was an anomaly in his quest for Olympic glory.

"My focus is pretty high. The last time you guys saw me, I didn't give a very good account of myself [in the Open] at Troon," he admitted. "I want to make sure I'm right where I need to be teeing off on Thursday.

"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 everything is said and done.

"I don't know if anything will be able to sit alongside the majors. We have our four events a year that are the gold standard. But I think this is going to be, in time, right up there among that."

McIlroy, who narrowly missed out on a bronze medal at the Tokyo Games, is representing Ireland alongside teammate Shane Lowry. Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick are the duo competing for Team GB.