Rory McIlroy was right in the mix to win an Olympic medal this afternoon, only for a disastrous error towards the end of his round to cost him a potential play-off for the bronze in Paris.
The 35-year old came into today's final round knowing that he would need a massive performance in order to push himself into podium contention, rising to that challenge at Le Golf National.
McIlroy was in sensational form for the majority of his round, particularly as he embarked on his final nine holes. The Holywood native would string together a run of five consecutive birdies from the tenth hole onwards, at one stage finding himself in a tie for third and just one shot off the lead.
However, disaster would thens strike on the par-four 15th.
After hitting a magnificent drive that left just a short wedge shot into the green, McIlroy would somehow manage to find the water at the front of the green. This then resulted in a difficult chip from the drop zone, with the Team Ireland star going on to record a double bogey.
While he would go on to par the remaining three holes, the damage was done. Rory McIlroy would ultimately go on to finish in a tie for fifth, just two shots off the bronze medal position.
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Rory McIlroy Gives Amazing Description Of Olympic Golf
This was sure to be a disappointing end to Rory McIlroy's Olympics, even if he did massively enjoy the overall experience.
Speaking to RTÉ, he explained what went wrong on that 15th hole as well as summing up his overall experience in Paris.
Paris 2024: So close but so far for Rory McIlroy who played himself into medal contention on the final day of the Olympic golf tournament, but came unstuck with an approach shot into the water on the 15th.#RTESport #Paris2024
📺 Watch https://t.co/XnOP6grnB7
📱Updates… pic.twitter.com/GG6mxPaU8o— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 4, 2024
I didn't think I had a chance at gold, then everything started to happen pretty quickly then.
I actually played okay, I played good on the way in. That one wedge shot on 15, honestly I hit the shot that I wanted to hit but didn't get up in the air enough to have the wind carry it that extra two or three yards onto the green.
It had been an incredible week and obviously I gave it a good go out there today. Unfortunately it wasn't to be...
I knew I was only one back at that point. Even over the shot on 15, I wanted to try and stay aggressive.
It would have been easy to hit it 30 feet long and get a four, but I wanted to try and make another birdie, stay aggressive and try and get as most out of the round as I could. Unfortunately that didn't happen...
It's been amazing. This games has felt a lot different to the one I was involved in in Tokyo because of covid. There has just been a great feeling around these games, particularly in the Irish camp.
In this golf tournament as well, I really feel like golf in the Olympics needed this. It has been an incredible week, an incredible experience.
Obviously for the Irish team there are still medals to play for and I'm excited to watch that.
Rory McIlroy would go ever further when speaking to reporters.
When asked about his Olympic experience, he admitted that it was one of the only parts of professional golf that was not affected by the current civil war in the pro game.
Rory McIlroy explains golf at the Olympics. pic.twitter.com/4dmjy7Cxx9
— Sean Zak (@Sean_Zak) August 4, 2024
Amazing. We were talking about it out there and Nico [Hojgaard] reckons it's the best tournament he's ever been involved in, and he's played a Ryder Cup.
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.
I think with how much of a s**t show 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.
So it speaks volumes for what's important in sports and what's important, I think every single player this week has had an amazing experience.
Rory McIlroy was initially a sceptic when it came to golf's inclusion in the Olympics, although he changed his opinion on that after taking part in the games in Tokyo.
After his latest experience in Paris, you can expect to see him tee it up for Ireland once again in LA in 2028.
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