Former PGA Tour pro recalls Rory McIlroy ‘sweating it out’ in Tokyo while explaining the changing ‘view’ of Olympic golf

Rory McIlroy is one of the top-tier golfers at the Olympics this year. Three years ago, McIlroy had to settle for a fourth position at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, when the competition was held at Kasumigaseki Country Club, Tokyo. The golfer lost out on the bronze medal place to C.T. Pan.

In a recent interview with Fried Egg Golf, Belgian golfer Nicolas Colsaerts, who participated in the 2016 Olympics, shared his thoughts about McIlroy’s efforts in Tokyo and how it showed the importance of an Olympic medal to him:

“Rory last time was sweating it out to try to win bronze...and looked really upset not getting it done…if you don't understand that playing your Olympics is special, like, I've got nothing to say to you,” Colsaerts said (19:41-20:13).

In the interview, Colsaerts further talked about how it was not just Rory McIlroy who recognized the worth of a medal in the 2020 Olympics; several golfers participated in the Tokyo Games, which according to Colsaerts, signaled their realization of the uniqueness of the tournament. The number of entries were higher as compared to the Rio Olympics when several golfers backed out due to the Zika virus outbreak.

“The view from players has changed. The only one was really the first one. And people used the excuse of that zika virus back then…wasn't really at the right time of of the year I understand it. But quickly for Tokyo they all showed up they all did. And they all realized that it wa something quite unique to be a part of,” Nicolas Colsaerts said (18:41–19:26).

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, McIlroy scored a 69 with four birdies in the first round. In the next round, his score was 66, dropping five birdies and one eagle. In the last two rounds, he scored 67 in each.

When is Rory McIlroy's tee time in the first two rounds of the Olympics?

Rory McIlroy is supposed to start at 10:11 am Paris local time with Scottie Scheffler and Ludvig Aberg on day one. In the next round, Rory McIlroy will start at 12:06 pm with the same golfers. Defending champion Xander Schauffele starts at 11:55 am with LIV golfer Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland on the first day. The next day, they tee off at 9:55 am. All the tee times for days one and two are as follows:

First Round and Second Round (all times local)

9:00 am / 10:55 am: Victor Perez (FRA), Matti Schmid (GER), C.T. Pan (TPE)
9:11 am / 11:06 am: Thorbjørn Olesen (DEN), Alejandro Tosti (ARG), Joaquin Niemann (CHI)
9:22 am / 11:17 am: Emiliano Grillo (ARG), Alex Noren (SWE), Ryan Fox (NZL)
9:33 am / 11:33 am: Min Woo Lee (AUS), Corey Conners (CAN), Christian Bezuidenhout (RSA)
9:44 am / 11:44 am: Wyndham Clark (USA), Hideki Matsuyama (JPN), Tommy Fleetwood (GBR)
9:55 am / 11:55 am: Sepp Straka (AUT), Jason Day (AUS), Tom Kim (KOR)
10:11 am / 12:06 pm: Scottie Scheffler (USA), Rory McIlroy (IRL), Ludvig Åberg (SWE)
10:22 am / 12:17 pm: Adrien Dumont de Chassart (BEL), Daniel Hillier (NZL), Guido Migliozzi (ITA)
10:33 am / 12:28 pm: Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA), Gavin Green (MAS), Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND)
10:44 am / 12:39 pm: Phachara Khongwatmai (THA), Abraham Ancer (MEX), Dou Zecheng (CHN)
10:55 am / 9:00 am: Yuan Yechun (CHN), Camilo Villegas (COL), Matteo Manassero (ITA)
11:06 am / 9:11 am: Adrian Meronk (POL), Sami Valimaki (FIN), David Puig (ESP)
11:17 am / 9:22 am: Erik van Rooyen (RSA), Keita Nakajima (JPN), Kevin Yu (TPE)
11:33 am / 9:33 am: Stephan Jaeger (GER), Nicolai Højgaard (DEN), Thomas Detry (BEL)
11:44 am / 9:44 am: Byeong Hun An (KOR), Shane Lowry (IRL), Nick Taylor (CAN)
11:55 am / 9:55 am: Xander Schauffele (USA), Viktor Hovland (NOR), Jon Rahm (ESP)
12:06 pm / 10:11 am: Matthieu Pavon (FRA), Collin Morikawa (USA), Matt Fitzpatrick (GBR)
12:17 pm / 10:22 am: Shubhankar Sharma (IND), Rafael Campos (PUR), Carlos Ortiz (MEX)
12:28 pm / 10:33 am: Nico Echavarria (COL), Mito Pereira (CHI), Kris Ventura (NOR)
12:39 pm / 10:44 am: Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR), Joel Girrbach (SUI), Tapio Pulkkanen (FIN)