McIlroy Declares for Britain?

First topic message reminder :

Rory McIlroy has declared "I’ve always felt more British than Irish", "Maybe it is the way I was brought up, I don’t know, but I have always felt more of a connection with the UK than with Ireland". This seems like a pretty strong indication to me that McIlroy will represent Team GB at the Olympics in 4 years. I think its a smart move to declare his allegiance early and in good time rather than letting the media make a storm in a tea cup about the whole issue in 4 years time close to the games.

The French should invade both the UK and Ireland, thus making the issue somewhat moot. Everyone can represent France.

Would affect the 6 nations egg chasing though...

Roller_Coaster wrote:The French should invade both the UK and Ireland, thus making the issue somewhat moot. Everyone can represent France.

Would affect the 6 nations egg chasing though...

First lesson in how to invade is actually learning how not to get invaded. The French are still F minus on that test.

I would hope rory makes the decision based on the other golfers who could possibly play for either Ireland or the UK. I am assuming three players from each nation allowed here.

At the moment if he picks the UK then the team would be Him, Donald and Westwood. Meaning a top ten player like Rose misses out. If the situation is the same come Olympic qualification time he should choose Ireland as they have no other players at the moment that could improve the quality of a field.

I see no point in Rose (or whoever just misses out) sitting at home while a couple of Irish also rans take up Olympic spots.

McLaren wrote:I would hope rory makes the decision based on the other golfers who could possibly play for either Ireland or the UK. I am assuming three players from each nation allowed here.

At the moment if he picks the UK then the team would be Him, Donald and Westwood. Meaning a top ten player like Rose misses out. If the situation is the same come Olympic qualification time he should choose Ireland as they have no other players at the moment that could improve the quality of a field.

I see no point in Rose (or whoever just misses out) sitting at home while a couple of Irish also rans take up Olympic spots.

So the Irish let a man, who doesn't want to play for them, play for them anyway in order to smooth the way for your Justin Rose to play for team GB? Very nice of the Irish to let a raging bull of bitterness into their camp to play against his own Nation in a green teeshirt - those will be happy times indeed in Camp Ireland.

Meanwhile, I do hope Justin doesn't suddenly remember where he was born and declare for South Africa instead! Now wouldn't that be a stick in the spokes.

I justed used rose as an example, the point being there are likely to be more than three UK players who are better than team Ireland. I would imagine irish golf fans want to see the best players at the olympics regardless of nationalities?

You shouldn't be allowed to play golf in the Olympics if you are fat. It's supposed to be the cream of athletes. Not fat wasters like Shane Lowry

McLaren wrote:I justed used rose as an example, the point being there are likely to be more than three UK players who are better than team Ireland. I would imagine irish golf fans want to see the best players at the olympics regardless of nationalities?

No, actually. We can see the best players any time we want in every other competition in the world. The Olympics is about representing your country.

Rory should represent GB if that is who he thinks he is. Mind you, he made withering comments about playing in the Ryder Cup and he changed his mind after playing in that with his good friend Gmac.

Golf is too much of an individual/international sport to be in the Olympics (representating your nation). Why isn't it dealt with like the boxers - amateurs only.

McLaren wrote:I justed used rose as an example, the point being there are likely to be more than three UK players who are better than team Ireland. I would imagine irish golf fans want to see the best players at the olympics regardless of nationalities?

No, Irish golf fans will want players who want to play for them at the Olympics (fat Lowry included) they won't want to be forcing anybody to join ship who would have quite a large chip on his shoulder - not good for Rory, not good for team moral, not good for paltry medal potential either. So if the British want the best players at the Olympics they'll just do the right thing and accept someone who is British, and at the time of writing, the best. We'll look after ourselves - we're used to no gold, it won't be a big deal.

Sin é wrote:

McLaren wrote:I justed used rose as an example, the point being there are likely to be more than three UK players who are better than team Ireland. I would imagine irish golf fans want to see the best players at the olympics regardless of nationalities?

No, actually. We can see the best players any time we want in every other competition in the world. The Olympics is about representing your country.

Rory should represent GB if that is who he thinks he is. Mind you, he made withering comments about playing in the Ryder Cup and he changed his mind after playing in that with his good friend Gmac.

Golf is too much of an individual/international sport to be in the Olympics (representating your nation). Why isn't it dealt with like the boxers - amateurs only.

Very good point Sin é, indeed all these professional sports that have their own highly lucrative professional outlets (ie football, basketball, tennis, road cycling etc), if they want to join the Olympics, they should be forced to have their unprofessional ranks represent the sport.

Athletics is the original Olympic concept and therefore even though I say the same should be true of even that sport (ie, only amateurs - win your gold and then make your choice do you want to remain amateur to win another one in four year's time) I might make allowances for it, considering the Olympics is really it's Main Championship, unlike football (WC), rugby(WC), tennis(GS circuit) etc.

super_realist wrote:I don't really care who he represents, Golf shouldn't be in the Olympics really and apart from the Ryder Cup you aren't representing a nation anyway.

However given the chance would you rather be part of a team that is at the forefront or one in the international wilderness. Big fish small pond.

Which do you think Rory (or indeed any Olympic/Paralympic participant) would care about more, representing a Nation (be it Ireland, GB&NI) or the personal achievement in participating/potentially winning an Olympic gold medal. I would imagine its the latter all day long.

FWIW, I would have assumed that given the choice most would choose to represent the Nation which they feel the closest connection, rather than which team is most successful. It may even mean more to him to represent a team whom win a rare medal.

Mac, good job thats not a choice of yours to make, it's entirely Young Rory's decision who he decides to represent, be that at the expense of Westwood/Donald/Rose/McDowell/Lewis etc so be it. I think theres very little chance in he (or indeed anyone) making a choice just so another can par take.

its actually due to be the top2 per nation based on OWGR.

Has Gmac declared his intentions yet?
it is very concievable that he would get chosed for ROI but not GB. i would have to see this be the reason for his choice.... its embarassing enough when Englands C Team choose to play for ROI soccer.

Two things,

1. I agree with Sin é. Should be amateurs taking part if it should be in the olympics at all.

2. "a raging bull of bitterness" "who would have quite a large chip on his shoulder". Two phrases used by SecretFly to, presumably, describe Rory McIlroy.
I wonder how you come to these conclusions Fly?

Gareth_NI wrote:

super_realist wrote:I don't really care who he represents, Golf shouldn't be in the Olympics really and apart from the Ryder Cup you aren't representing a nation anyway.

However given the chance would you rather be part of a team that is at the forefront or one in the international wilderness. Big fish small pond.

Which do you think Rory (or indeed any Olympic/Paralympic participant) would care about more, representing a Nation (be it Ireland, GB&NI) or the personal achievement in participating/potentially winning an Olympic gold medal. I would imagine its the latter all day long.

FWIW, I would have assumed that given the choice most would choose to represent the Nation which they feel the closest connection, rather than which team is most successful. It may even mean more to him to represent a team whom win a rare medal.

Mac, good job thats not a choice of yours to make, it's entirely Young Rory's decision who he decides to represent, be that at the expense of Westwood/Donald/Rose/McDowell/Lewis etc so be it. I think theres very little chance in he (or indeed anyone) making a choice just so another can par take.

I think he'd rather be part of GB &NI so that he can be part of a winning team and so that afterwards he's not on an open topped Smart car instead of a flotilla of loads of buses and floats like he would with GB

An aside to the amateur/professional aspect of the Olympics.

A bit off topic but, if it were for amateur players (I know it's unlikely these days so probably even more of a stupid question!) would the gold medal be worth more than the maximum permissible prize for an amateur golfer to win? Per the following on the beeb it the cost seems to be £450 but could conceivably become more and possibly, therefore, breach the limit set down by the R&A. What would happen then?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19144983

One reason why I wouldn't want Rory representing Ireland in the Olympics is because he has actually got to think about it. It should be an automatic decision for him as to who he should represent.

One of the things I enjoyed about this Olympics was the Team Ireland dynamic (led by Sonia) and how they supported each other. There were stories of Sonia using her high profile to beg, borrow & steal tickets to get the whole team Ireland into support everyone else in ever event. I just can't see Rory fitting into that set-up and would probably just be a disruption.

I think Gmac has said from the start that he would be sticking with Ireland.

Does anyone know what passport he holds? If it is a British passport, then surely he should compete for GB in an Olympics? Is this not a sign of his nationality above and beyond who his golf registration is with?

Also an Olympics with just amateurs would be rubbish, who wants to watch the sports decrease in skill and performance.

Rava wrote:Two things,

1. I agree with Sin é. Should be amateurs taking part if it should be in the olympics at all.

2. "a raging bull of bitterness" "who would have quite a large chip on his shoulder". Two phrases used by SecretFly to, presumably, describe Rory McIlroy.
I wonder how you come to these conclusions Fly?

If Rory finds himself in Team Ireland in 2016, it will MOST DEFINITELY be because he is trying to placate the political sensitivities of the easily offended. He said what he said in the Daily mail, and he meant it - he was honest - he feels more British than Irish - how much clearer does he have to put his personal convictions? He feels British, he IS a British citizen and he wants and desires to play for HIS nation. It's a natural.

Therefore, my point about 'chips on shoulders' and 'raging bulls' are fair analogies for his mood come the time IF he is forced (by officialdom and not wanting to offend and any of the other reasons that might hit him since he's tried to put off his decision once again) to declare for Ireland.

His heart won't be in it - it won't. Unlike some of the commentators above, I do think it means something quite deep to him to 'represent' his country - it's not just about him winning a medal personally, it's about declaring what team he wants to walk out onto the Olympic stadium with, the people he feels connected to spiritually - his mind is that he wants to win Gold as a British athlete.

He should be allowed do so, no political wheeling and dealing should now be done to try to change his mind. His desire should be honoured.

If he ends up walking out behind a Tri-colour - no, he won't be happy and I'm not going to somehow pretend that I think he'll be ok about it because I don't. He spoke the truth about his desires and identity, he's gained a whole lot of respect from me for doing so because I always felt he was keeping too much of that under the carpet. He was honest and I'm being honest in my thoughts.

beninho wrote:Does anyone know what passport he holds? If it is a British passport, then surely he should compete for GB in an Olympics? Is this not a sign of his nationality above and beyond who his golf registration is with?

Also an Olympics with just amateurs would be rubbish, who wants to watch the sports decrease in skill and performance.

Boxing fans are quite happy to watch their amateur boxers go for gold in the Olympics - quite happy. No big cries for their favourite professionals to be allowed in. They realise that the amateurs of today are the potential star professionals of tomorrow. But as soon as they turn professional, their days of competing at the Olympics and winning Gold, Silver or Bronze are over - they make way for the next generation of amateurs to seek their glory. Olympics should be the beginning of reputations on the world sporting stage, not a crutch for stars already wealthy enough and famous enough.

He has the blessing of the GUI to make his own choice.

Golf Union of Ireland general secretary Pat Finn said he “wouldn’t see it as a disappointment” if McIlroy declared for Britain.

“If Rory or any other player from the North, or throughout the island of Ireland, wins an Olympic medal, it wouldn’t bother me personally which anthem was playing in the background or which flag was being raised, they’d be all [past] Irish Close champions and all part of our programmes in their years as amateur players . . . and it shouldn’t be a disappointment to anyone who is a member of a club affiliated to the GUI in that there are plenty of British people members of clubs throughout Ireland who equally fund and pay towards the work the GUI does every year,” Mr Finn said.

SecretFly wrote:

beninho wrote:Does anyone know what passport he holds? If it is a British passport, then surely he should compete for GB in an Olympics? Is this not a sign of his nationality above and beyond who his golf registration is with?

Also an Olympics with just amateurs would be rubbish, who wants to watch the sports decrease in skill and performance.

Boxing fans are quite happy to watch their amateur boxers go for gold in the Olympics - quite happy. No big cries for their favourite professionals to be allowed in. They realise that the amateurs of today are the potential star professionals of tomorrow. But as soon as they turn professional, their days of competing at the Olympics and winning Gold, Silver or Bronze are over - they make way for the next generation of amateurs to seek their glory. Olympics should be the beginning of reputations on the world sporting stage, not a crutch for stars already wealthy enough and famous enough.

+1

Rava wrote:

SecretFly wrote:

beninho wrote:Does anyone know what passport he holds? If it is a British passport, then surely he should compete for GB in an Olympics? Is this not a sign of his nationality above and beyond who his golf registration is with?

Also an Olympics with just amateurs would be rubbish, who wants to watch the sports decrease in skill and performance.

Boxing fans are quite happy to watch their amateur boxers go for gold in the Olympics - quite happy. No big cries for their favourite professionals to be allowed in. They realise that the amateurs of today are the potential star professionals of tomorrow. But as soon as they turn professional, their days of competing at the Olympics and winning Gold, Silver or Bronze are over - they make way for the next generation of amateurs to seek their glory. Olympics should be the beginning of reputations on the world sporting stage, not a crutch for stars already wealthy enough and famous enough.

+1

For Me, the most important thing is that the Olympic Gold should be the pinnacle of the competitors achievement. in athletics this can still be the case for the likes of Bolt, but in boxing for it to be the pinnacle of achievement it needs to be for amateurs only.
when Professionals are allowed to compete in sports like soccer it diminishes the significance of the olympic gold medal as quite clearly it is not deemed as important to the competitors as many other competitions

hend085 wrote:

Rava wrote:

SecretFly wrote:

beninho wrote:Does anyone know what passport he holds? If it is a British passport, then surely he should compete for GB in an Olympics? Is this not a sign of his nationality above and beyond who his golf registration is with?

Also an Olympics with just amateurs would be rubbish, who wants to watch the sports decrease in skill and performance.

Boxing fans are quite happy to watch their amateur boxers go for gold in the Olympics - quite happy. No big cries for their favourite professionals to be allowed in. They realise that the amateurs of today are the potential star professionals of tomorrow. But as soon as they turn professional, their days of competing at the Olympics and winning Gold, Silver or Bronze are over - they make way for the next generation of amateurs to seek their glory. Olympics should be the beginning of reputations on the world sporting stage, not a crutch for stars already wealthy enough and famous enough.

+1

For Me, the most important thing is that the Olympic Gold should be the pinnacle of the competitors achievement. in athletics this can still be the case for the likes of Bolt, but in boxing for it to be the pinnacle of achievement it needs to be for amateurs only.
when Professionals are allowed to compete in sports like soccer it diminishes the significance of the olympic gold medal as quite clearly it is not deemed as important to the competitors as many other competitions

+1

John Cregan wrote:Really think Murray is one of the good guys, seems like a really nice fella and i think he deserves a slam.................can't see him beating Djokovic though, hope im wrong........................

Me too. I like Murray. Glad he won.

navyblueshorts wrote:

John Cregan wrote:If rugby became part of the Olympics i would safely assume that our NI players would play with Ireland rather than GB...................it would be the natural thing for them seeing as Rugby is a 32 county game in Ireland.......

Should Rory decide to do the opposite.............golf is a 32 county game as well, then this would make a big statement.........................

Whatever decision he makes, good luck to him, Olympic Golf not something i am interested in anyway.........................

Big statement? Only in the minds of people obsessed with making it so.

It may not seem that significant to some but McIlroy has to date only represented Ireland and is in many ways a product of Irish golf therefore it does represent a switch in allegiance to a certain extent though nationality in golf isnt really that important as it is an individual sport. Some Irish rugby players for example from NI undoubtly feel more British than Irish however they would more than likely never want to play for England etc. because their allegiance is to Irish rugby.

While it should not really have too much significance he is the first high profile NI sports person (football not included) I can think of who has so openly stated his allegiances. Heros like Barry McGuigan always refused to get dragged into the debate because he felt it made a bigger statement to be seen to embrace both nationalities.

Obviously if Mcilroy feels more British then thats how he feels and it shouldnt really change anything. However, at the same time I dont see the point of even bothering to comment on the question especially when the Olympics is so far away and why he would even be too bothered about going to the Olympics as I would like to think he would have bigger fish to fry like adding a US Masters and B Open to his resume.

I also think it is ridiculous that golf is going to be an Olympic sport.

Its not even a sport, let alone an Olympic one.

super_realist wrote:Its not even a sport, let alone an Olympic one.

Oh stop it, S_R.

I suppose if you can get Olympic medals for BMX riding, dressage and painting then golf doesnt sound so ridiculous. Still can understand why the Olympics would even feature on the radar of someone like McIlroy.

Who is it to judge what the pinnacle of a sport should be? Cavendish wears the world champions jersey when competing throughout the year, is this not the pinnacle of a road race? The world championship has more competitors and is probably a stronger event. So what drop cycling from the olympics?

Lionel Messi - probably the greatest footballer ever, took Barcelona to court ( or threatened it) so that he could be released for the Beijing games...this is not the sign of someone who does not cherish the chance to appear in the olympics.

Amatuer boxing is in the olympics, that is the reason no professionals appear. But do we really beleive all these amateurs have 2nd jobs, and make no money from boxing....apart from the Cubans that is.

hend085 wrote:

Rava wrote:

SecretFly wrote:

beninho wrote:Does anyone know what passport he holds? If it is a British passport, then surely he should compete for GB in an Olympics? Is this not a sign of his nationality above and beyond who his golf registration is with?

Also an Olympics with just amateurs would be rubbish, who wants to watch the sports decrease in skill and performance.

Boxing fans are quite happy to watch their amateur boxers go for gold in the Olympics - quite happy. No big cries for their favourite professionals to be allowed in. They realise that the amateurs of today are the potential star professionals of tomorrow. But as soon as they turn professional, their days of competing at the Olympics and winning Gold, Silver or Bronze are over - they make way for the next generation of amateurs to seek their glory. Olympics should be the beginning of reputations on the world sporting stage, not a crutch for stars already wealthy enough and famous enough.

+1

For Me, the most important thing is that the Olympic Gold should be the pinnacle of the competitors achievement. in athletics this can still be the case for the likes of Bolt, but in boxing for it to be the pinnacle of achievement it needs to be for amateurs only.
when Professionals are allowed to compete in sports like soccer it diminishes the significance of the olympic gold medal as quite clearly it is not deemed as important to the competitors as many other competitions

Virtually all the top athletes in the Olympians are professional. Bolt is no more an amateur than someone like Kobe Bryant.

Even Amateur golfers aren't really amateur these days.

beninho wrote:Who is it to judge what the pinnacle of a sport should be? Cavendish wears the world champions jersey when competing throughout the year, is this not the pinnacle of a road race? The world championship has more competitors and is probably a stronger event. So what drop cycling from the olympics?

Yes cycling should be dropped from the Olympics until it cleans its act up. Would anyone be surprised if Cavendish is EPO'ed to his eyeballs?

beninho wrote: Lionel Messi - probably the greatest footballer ever, took Barcelona to court ( or threatened it) so that he could be released for the Beijing games...this is not the sign of someone who does not cherish the chance to appear in the olympics.

Thats gratitude for you sue Barca the people who have sponsored his growth hormone pills since he was a flea and made him the player he is. Football is probably the most ridiculous Olympic sport of all. What is the point of it at all?

beninho wrote: Amatuer boxing is in the olympics, that is the reason no professionals appear. But do we really beleive all these amateurs have 2nd jobs, and make no money from boxing....apart from the Cubans that is.

Yeah I dont think the Irish boxers anyway get any money and if they did it would be very little. Im sure some Olympians get incredible sponsorship deals but your bog standard one wouldnt make much of a living off it.

super_realist wrote:Its not even a sport, let alone an Olympic one.

Normally I'd agree with you and call golf a game rather than a sport...but then it's the Olympic Games not the Olympic Sports so that kind of defeats the purpose....

But I went and looked at the OED which defines a sport as "an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment."

Physical exertion? Check - it's not just cerebral exertion like say chess.
Skill? Definitely Check- all of us know it takes a lot of skill - a lot more than most of us have actually.
Competition - Chcek
Entertainment - Check

So golf is a sport. End of. Unless you apply a definition that says the exertion would have to be heavily aerobic to rule out, darts, golf, snooker etc, in which case weighlifting may no longer be a sport as well, or even diving (I've never seen a diver being out of breath after a dive). Tricky one. Still go back to my previous point though, if it's going to be in the Olympics, making it a straight 72 hole stroke is missing an opportunity.

Physical exertion? Not really. Nor is Cricket, Snooker, Darts etc.

I love golf, just can't see it as a true sport. Expecially when you look at many of the top players in diabolical shape.

A whole bunch of talking points arising from this thread. My own jumble of thoughts:

1. It's premature for anyone to be assuming they will be playing golf in the Rio Olympics. Even for quality players during their competitive years, form and OWGR rankings year-on-year can change quite a bit, and there's obviously also the possibility of serious injury etc.
2. I thought that the proposed qualification criteria had some element of bias towards the top nations - so that those countries with greater representation in the top however-many in the world would be able to field more players than the minimum. Could be wrong though.
3. Agree with reservations over golf's inclusion in the Olympics. These might be put to rest though if a globally recognised name (McIlroy, Woods et al) wins the inaugural event and subsequently makes a big deal of it via the media. [It seems to me that tennis players are slowly changing views in this regard?]
4. Agree that 72 hole strokeplay is uninspiring and a missed opportunity for this supposedly special event. On the other hand, what's happened with the golf world cup is probably a concern for both points 3 and 4.
5. I personally don't particularly care whether McIlroy represents Ireland or GB&NI (although appreciate it might be a sensitive point for quite a few people)... but it would be lovely if Andy Murray's exploits could inspire some GB (Sco/Eng/Wal) golfers to win some majors as well!

[... erm... not really thinking of the ladies with that last comment, but fingers crossed anyway for Catriona Matthew, Melissa Reid & co in the Women's British Open this week!]

Gordy wrote:

Virtually all the top athletes in the Olympians are professional. Bolt is no more an amateur than someone like Kobe Bryant.

Do you think that fact went over our head? Of course Bolt is a professional. The discussion was (partially) about what the Olympics should be - NOT what it is. We all know what it is - it's multimillionaires adding to their egos by taking part in a not-for-profit world event - good of them, making the sacrifice by not looking for the appearance fees and taking the attention away from much poorer athletes/sportspeople who get by on often paltry Government subsidies to try to live a dream every four years.

We all know what it is, what it has become - the idea is that some of us think it should be different.

super_realist wrote:Physical exertion? Not really. Nor is Cricket, Snooker, Darts etc.

I love golf, just can't see it as a true sport. Expecially when you look at many of the top players in diabolical shape.

I'll write to the OED and tell them S_R says their definition is too loose. They'll be devastated but appreciative of you setting them straight.

There are loads of things part of the venacular that are described differently in the OED. Do the OED define Golf as physical exertion? If not how does it fit in with their definition of sport
I'm sure Americans refer to Tractor Pulling as a "sport".

It is the Olympic Games............................ just saying

So Poker and Russian Roulette and Snooker and Darts etc should all rightfully be part of the party.

The Olympic motto is Higher, Faster Stronger.

Not sure golf fits into that ideal.

How about Women's Beach Golf?

Surely the more stuff they cram into the olympics the less feasible it becomes for some cities to stage the event. Why not split things up a bit ? Chess, which somebody already mentioned, has their own olympiad every other year. The chess olympiad 2012 just had their closing ceremony a couple of days ago. They may be happy to share their olympiad with some other similar event (ie something that can take place indoors in a relatively modest space). Just a thought, oh and by the way I used to play a lot of chess and don't recall seeing too many overweight chess players -- it's easier to stay awake and focussed over the board for hours on end if you're somewhat fit !

Roller_Coaster wrote:An aside to the amateur/professional aspect of the Olympics.

A bit off topic but, if it were for amateur players (I know it's unlikely these days so probably even more of a stupid question!) would the gold medal be worth more than the maximum permissible prize for an amateur golfer to win? Per the following on the beeb it the cost seems to be £450 but could conceivably become more and possibly, therefore, breach the limit set down by the R&A. What would happen then?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19144983

An Olympic gold medal would be considered a SYMBOLIC prize, so not subject to breaching any rule of amateur status. (3-2)

Cheers George, didn't know about that differentiation.

I assume you saw this and decided to ignore it, S_R?

cheers George

Surprised at this statement by Rory.....Sure it won't go down well in Ireland........

Now the Irish are winning majors galore he should be feeling more "Irish" than ever...

Beautiful race of people....

I'm sure Americans refer to Tractor Pulling as a "sport". Huh?

I'm American.

I don't refer to tractor pulling as a sport. I asked people at lunch if they thought it was a sport, and none of them did.

Silly comment S_R.

Don't waste your breath on these lot Mate..

Wrote a valid article on the ryder cup and these guys did was made immature comments!!

say's it all...

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Don't waste your breath on these lot Mate..

It's "Don't waste your breath on this lot Mate..".

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Wrote a valid article on the ryder cup and these guys did was made immature comments!!

Eh? "...and these guys did was made..."?? Come on old chap - you don't want us to think you're a cretin do you?

Oh, one other thing - it's "Ryder", not "ryder".

Bell end.

"HAVING JUST won three out of my last four tournaments, including a second Major Championship, I was hoping that my success on the golf course would be the more popular topic of golfing conversation today! However, the issue of my cultural identity has re-emerged, and with it, the matter of my national allegiance ahead of the Rio Olympics in 2016.

I am in an extremely sensitive and difficult position and I conveyed as much in a recent newspaper interview.

I am a proud product of Irish golf and the Golfing Union of Ireland and am hugely honoured to have come from very rich Irish sporting roots, winning Irish Boys, Youths and Amateur titles and playing for Ireland at all levels. I am also a proud Ulsterman who grew up in Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. That is my background and always will be.

I receive huge support from both Irish and British sports fans alike and it is greatly appreciated. Likewise, I feel like I have a great affinity with American sports fans. I play most of my golf in the US nowadays and I am incredibly proud to have won both the US Open and the US PGA Championship in the last two years.

As an international sportsman, I am very lucky to be supported by people all over the world, many of who treat me as one of their own, no matter what their nationality, or indeed mine. This is the way sport should be.

Since turning professional at 18, I have travelled the world playing the game that I love and consider myself a global player. As the World No 1 right now, I wish to be a positive role model and a sportsperson that people respect, and enjoy watching.

I feel very fortunate to be in a position to play the sport that I love professionally and to have enjoyed the success that has come my way.

I wish to clarify that I have absolutely not made a decision regarding my participation in the next Olympics. On a personal level, playing in the Olympics would be a huge honour. However, the Games in Rio are still four years away and I certainly won’t be making any decisions with regards to participating any time soon.

The Olympics will be great for the growth of golf on a global scale, but my focus right now is on being the best player I can be, trying to win Major Championships and contributing to what will hopefully be a victorious European side at the forthcoming Ryder Cup Matches against the USA.

Lastly, I would like to thank everyone for the amazing support that I receive around the world every time I play. It is hugely appreciated"

. . . Rory McIlroy 11th Sept