Rory McIlroy’s ‘sh*tshow’ remark underscores Olympic golf’s deep appeal

As the final round of the Olympic men’s golf event played out Sunday, it was hard to fathom a better leaderboard. Among the contenders jockeying for gold, silver and bronze: the world’s best player (Scottie Scheffler); the world’s hottest player (Xander Schauffele); Europe’s best player (Rory McIlroy); Asia’s best player (Hideki Matsuyama); LIV Golf’s biggest talent (Jon Rahm); a homeland hero (France’s Victor Perez); a South Korean with far more at stake than just a medal (Tom Kim); and an Englishman playing for easily the biggest title of his career (Tommy Fleetwood).

Did we miss anyone? Probably. Because in what was an electric finish on a course with danger lurking around every corner, it felt at times like anyone within a touchdown of the lead had a shot at the podium.

It was hard to fathom a better atmosphere, too. Three years after Olympic golfers competed in eerie quiet in front of only a smattering of officials and media in the Covid-plagued Tokyo Games, the Paris Games’ watery and rough-choked host site — Le Golf National, about a 45-minute drive southwest of the city center — was a powder keg of roars and groans and giddy nationalism.

Perez and his fellow countryman, Matthieu Pavon, were greeted by the heaving galleries with rousing renditions of “La Marseillaise,” the French national anthem. But the locals weren’t the only players feeling the love. Rahm described the support from Spaniards in the crowd as “mind-blowing.” On the first tee Thursday, Shane Lowry was taken aback by the cheers he heard from the Irish faithful. “It was nearly off-putting a little bit,” he said. “Like, wow, I wasn’t expecting that, and I got goosebumps and I hit a really bad tee shot.”

Added Schauffele, after a disappointing Sunday 73 that left him seven back of Scheffler’s gold-medal-winning tally (19 under) and five back of Matsuyama’s bronze (17 under): “This is the kind of field and kind of show the tournament needs and for all the top players to feel like they want to play it.”

But there was also another less tangible theme that made this tournament so riveting: the absence of a purse. In an era of men’s professional golf that has been dominated by talk of swelling payouts and mind-bending nine-figure contracts, for four sun-splashed, chant-filled days in the Paris suburbs, the world’s best golfers competed for nothing more than their flags. (OK, some countries’ Olympic programs pay out for medals, but by men’s pro-golf standards, those bonuses are nominal.)

The irony of arguably the year’s most stirring and memorable tournament paying out a pittance seemed to be lost on few players, least of all Rory McIlroy, who for much of the last three years has played the role of five-star General in the golf establishment’s fight against oil-fueled riches and shotgun starts. McIlroy said after a final-round 66 that left him two shots shy of a playoff for bronze that this Olympics was “one of the best individual competitions I’ve been a part of.” This from a guy who has played in 63 majors.

“I still think that the Ryder Cup is the best tournament that we have in our game, pure competition, and I think this has the potential to be right up there with it,” McIlroy said. “I think with how much of a sh*tshow the game of golf is right now and you think about the two tournaments that might be the purest form of competition in our sport, we don’t play for money in it. It speaks volumes for what’s important in sports and what’s important.”

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Maybe you’re rolling your eyes and thinking, Here goes Rory again, up on his highfalutin soapbox. But here’s the thing: Nearly to a player, McIlroy’s fellow Olympians hit the same feel-good notes. As they walked off the course Sunday and signed their cards, the Olympic spirit all but oozed from their pores.   

Tom Kim, who shot 68 to finish at 13 under, wept in scoring, later explaining how he had burned to represent Korea in Paris, and how “brutal” the preparation process had been for him. “Then once the round finishes, everything is done and done,” he said. “I think the emotions that I’ve held in this year are coming out.”

Scheffler, not usually a crier in public, also got choked up — on the podium. “I take tremendous pride in coming over here and representing my country,” he would say later.

Jon Rahm, after playing the last eight holes in five over to finish in a crushing tie for 5th, didn’t know how to describe the sting he was feeling. “I don’t remember the last time I played a tournament and I felt this,” he said. “I don’t know what the word is because, you know, I not only feel like I let myself down but to just not get it done for the whole country of Spain, it’s a lot more painful than I would like it to be.” Rahm added: “I think by losing today, I’m getting a much deeper appreciation of what this tournament means to me than if I had won any medal, right? I’m getting a taste of how much it really mattered.”

Jason Day had golf fans reaching for Kleenex when he said the week “brought out old feelings that I thought I didn’t have and I still have deep down and why we play golf and why we love it so much.”

Did this week fix golf? Of course not. The PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund are still deep in negotiations about how to knock down barriers in the men’s pro game and bring the best players together more frequently. Debate also will continue to rage among the players and their representatives about “equitable” pay, against a backdrop of a $100 million FedEx Cup bonus pool on the PGA Tour and $20 million first-place checks on LIV.

But for one glorious week at least, things felt…different. Los Angeles 2028 can’t come soon enough.