Great Interview with Rory

[DeadMan]

This has been floating around in my twitter feed: http://www.independent.ie/sport/golf/paul-kimmage-meets-rory-mcilroy-the-truth-about-the-olympics-close-friendship-with-tiger-and-the-important-things-in-life-35349397.html

It's a great read. I encourage everybody to read it, but it's a must read if you're a fan of Rory at all. A snippet from him talking about the Olympics:

RM: I sent Justin Rose a text after he won, I think I still have the message: 'I'm happy for you, mate. I saw how much it means to you. Congratulations.' He said: 'Thanks very much. All the boys here want to know do you feel like you missed out?' I said: 'Justin, if I had been on the podium (listening) to the Irish national anthem as that flag went up, or the British national anthem as that flag went up, I would have felt uncomfortable either way.' I don't know the words to either anthem; I don't feel a connection to either flag; I don't want it to be about flags; I've tried to stay away from that.

PK: Sure.

RM: Not everyone is (driven by) nationalism and patriotism and that's never been me, because I felt like I grew up in a place where I wasn't allowed to be. It was suppressed. I'm very conflicted because I'm a Catholic and . . .

PK: You don't know what 'anseo' means?

RM: Exactly. I turned on the TV at home and it was the BBC; I did my GCSEs; I used pounds sterling, stuff like that. So I'm a Catholic but I feel very much 'Northern Irish'. And I never wanted it to get political or about where I'm from, but that's what it turned into. And it just got to the point where it wasn't worth the hassle.

[SavvySwede]

Interesting interview. Rory sounds like my kind of guy. By far the most relatable of the Big "insert random number here" crop of players.

[nevets88]

Another interesting bit (should turn this into a poll)

Quote

RM: I’ve seen it first-hand. I’ve seen what his life is like in Florida. I’ve played golf with him and said: ‘What are you doing tonight? Do you want to come and have dinner with us?’ And he can’t. He just can’t. And for me that’s unfathomable. I could not live like that.

PK: Sure.

RM: I could not live like that. If someone was to say, ‘You can have 14 Majors and 70 wins but have to deal with that, or nine Majors and 40 wins and stay somewhat the same as you are’, I’d take the second option all day.

 

[Thrash13]

I appreciate the honesty from Mcilroy now, but it would've been a lot better if he would've used that as his reasoning all along. The Zika excuse was used by several golfers, and I wonder how many just didn't feel like making the trip to Brazil and playing. 

I may be in the minority, but the Olympic golf thing didn't really move the needle for me. I watched a little, but I was more interested in the swimming and other events. 

I'll stick to the four majors, Players, FedEx Cup Playoffs, WGC events, Ryder/Presidents Cup, etc. for my most enjoyable golf events to watch on tv. 

[DeadMan]

I never posted part 2, but here it is: http://www.independent.ie/sport/golf/paul-kimmage-meets-rory-mcilroy-part-two-ryder-cup-battles-irish-open-win-and-his-longing-for-a-green-jacket-35368195.html

Again, worth a read.

[Rainmaker]

Great interview - I read most of it - which is saying a lot because it was really long, lol.  Rory always seemed like a pretty decent guy.  

Personally - I think Rory has the most potential out of anyone playing today to dominate the game - I really feel like there's an epic run of fantastic golf coming from him - that will last half a decade or more and double, at least, his current major count.