Olympic commentators forced to apologise after furious Rory McIlroy moment in Paris
Rory McIlroy made a solid start to his Olympic campaign, although his round included a moment of anger on the 17th tee which commentators apologised for.
Commentators apologised for a fuming Rory McIlroy's choice of language during the opening round of the Olympic tournament. McIlroy, representing Ireland, had a solid start at Le Golf National, recording a three-under-par 68.
However, his first round was not without incident. When teeing off on the par-four 17th, McIlroy hit it right and immediately let out what seemed to be a four-letter swear word, with the ball bouncing into the rough very close to a camera operator.
Although the word wasn't entirely clear, the Discovery commentators picked up on it, promptly issuing an apology for the language. One commentator remarked: "A colourful character, some colourful language." Another added: "Apologies for anything that came through the mic."
After a challenging few months, McIlroy is hoping for a much-needed lift in Paris. His quest to win a fifth major title will extend into another year after he endured his second-worst Open performance at Troon. The 35-year-old could only muster rounds of 78 and 75 to finish 11 over par, just five weeks after his devastating late collapse at the US Open.
When asked what a gold medal would mean in light of a tough 2024, McIlroy said this week: "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 [win] in my career for the last 10 years.
"The last time you guys [the media] saw me, I didn't give a very good account of myself at Troon. I want to make sure I'm right where I need to be teeing off on Thursday.
"Again I've been asked this question a lot, where would an Olympic medal sit in sort of the hierarchy of my career achievements? It's something I probably won't be able to answer until when 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 amongst that."
Many of the world's top players are fighting it out for the medals. Representing Team GB are Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick, while McIlroy is joined by Shane Lowry in Team Ireland. World number one Scottie Scheffler (US), recent Open winner Xander Schauffele (US), Australia's Jason Day and Norway's Viktor Hovland are also amongst the stacked field.