Three years after his initial involvement in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where athletes and spectators were prevented from exploring the city due to the Covid pandemic, Rory McIlroy has shown commitment to experience more of the Olympics beyond just golf. McIlroy, who ranks third worldwide and recently played alongside Scottie Scheffler and Ludvig Aberg, both global top five golfers, shot a 68 three-under par at his opening round at the Golf National on the peripheries of Paris. The leading score is presently held by Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, who is eight under.
Describing his game as solid, McIlroy has keenly followed tennis at Roland Garros, witnessing reigning Wimbledon victor Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal, a renowned multiple Grand Slam champion, sadly lose their doubles match. McIlroy also showed support for fellow Northern Irish sportsperson Daniel Wiffen, who clinched gold in swimming.
McIlroy enthusiastically shared his first sporting event, watch Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz compete in doubles. It was his first time witnessing Alcaraz’s live game, and he had not seen Rafael play on clay before, which added to the excitement. The crowd’s electric reaction to their partial comeback in the second set was particularly memorable for him.
McIlroy, hailing from Holywood near Belfast similar to Wiffen, was deeply impressed by Wiffen’s Olympic record-breaking 800m swim. He shared his experience of witnessing the incredible last 100m of Wiffen’s swim on TV and is looking forward to his 1,500m race, supposedly even more exceptional than his 800m performance. Excitement is building for the potential second gold.
McIlroy’s golfing contention continues at 11.06am on Friday, in Irish local time.