Rory McIlroy thinks people should play in the Olympics

How many of the world's top players will join Rory in Rio?

So far, golf’s inclusion in the Olympics has not been met with overwhelming enthusiasm from the players. Vijay Singh, Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Marc Leishman have all already withdrawn, with more expected to follow suit. 

World number three Rory McIlroy, however, thinks players should jump at the chance of Olympic glory. 

“It’s a week,” says McIlroy. “You know, go play four rounds really competitively and try and win a gold medal. And if you do, I don’t know how that will stack up against the other things that I’ve done in my career now, but maybe I might look back in 20 years’ time and a gold medal might be one of my crowning achievements in the game, you never know. So it’s an opportunity to do something that you’ve never done before.”

McIlroy is concerned that the game’s leading players failing to embrace Olympic golf could see it quickly lose its status as an Olympic sport. 

“If we don’t somehow change the narrative of getting people more excited about it…I’m worried,” says 27-year-old McIlroy. 

Golf is scheduled for the 2016 Olympics in Rio and the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, but the future beyond that is uncertain. 

“It’s obviously being played in Rio this year and it’s being played in Tokyo in 2020. I’m not sure if we’re going to have another opportunity to win a gold medal after that, depending on what happens,” says four-time major champ McIlroy. “I’m not sure if golf is going to have another opportunity to win a gold medal after that.”