Four years ago, following the London Olympics, Rory McIlroy said that he's always felt 'more British than Irish'. It was taken as a given that he would compete for Team GB at the Rio Olympics.
Nearly two years later, he surprised by choosing to represent Ireland.
Of course, in the end, he would represent nobody. Initially, he cited - as did plenty of other golfers - the zika virus as being his reason for not competing at the Olympics. Few believed him. It felt like a cover story. In the days prior to The Open, he would imply a belief that golf at the Olympics 'doesn't matter'.
Rory McIlroy Tokyo Olympics
On Wednesday, at press conference for the World Golf Championship, McIlroy again cited another reason - one far more believable than others previously given.
Asked if he is considering competing at the Tokyo Olympics in four years, McIlroy said that the decision is more complex for him than many other golfers. That comes down to him being from Northern Ireland and having the option of representing either Ireland or Great Britain. The 'politics' of the situation means that it might not be worth it.
But the participation in the Olympics for me, it's just a little more complicated I feel for me than some other people from where I'm from and the whole politics of the thing. It's a difficult subject for me.
He also added that he enjoyed the Olympic tournament and the battle between Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson for the gold. He was, however, happy to simply be watching it on TV rather than participating.
But I thought if anything, I was really happy with how golf went in the Olympics. I turned it on in the final afternoon and to see how many people were out following and the atmosphere of it I guess, you could sense an atmosphere in the crowd. It was fantastic for golf, and to have two of our best players in the world battling it out for a Gold Medal, it was great for the game. It really was.
I was really happy with how it went. I was delighted of how well it went and honestly, I was happy to be watching on TV. I was happy for those guys. I was happy it was going so well.
Four years' time is a long ways away, so we'll see what happens. Right now, I'll concentrate on the 16 majors that we have between now and then and try to get a few more of those and go from there.
