WATCH: Rory McIlroy gets a roaring welcome from fans at the Olympics round 3
Rory McIlroy is one of the most popular faces of golf at the moment and gets a huge fan following wherever he plays. That was also the case at the Olympics golf men's event's third round, where he got a roaring welcome from fans at Le Golf National.
McIlroy entered the third round of the Paris Olympics golf men's third event after shooting 68 and 69 in the first two rounds. He's looking to win the first medal for Ireland in golf after missing it by a narrow margin last time at the Tokyo Olympics.
On Saturday, August 3, South African broadcaster Mpho Mutloane shared a video on X where Rory McIlroy is seen receiving a huge welcome from fans.
"Look the man is popular in France too. @McIlroyRory being shown love at Le Golf Nationale," he wrote.
Here's the video:
The four-time major champion is the face of golf, and it's not wrong to say that he's one of the most well-known active professionals, alongside Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
The 35-year-old golfer has won two tournaments on the PGA Tour this season but once again went winless at the major championships.
Additionally, he missed the cut at the Open Championship, where he had entered as one of the favorites. He also missed the chance to end his major drought at the US Open, finishing runner-up after making a couple of errors in the final few holes.
However, Rory McIlroy will hope to put his poor performances behind him and win the Olympic gold. During the post-round interview on Friday, August 2, he said that an Olympic win would be his biggest triumph after being winless at the major championships for a decade.
"It's well documented that I haven't won one of the Big Four in ten years," he said as per the Express. "It (Olympics) would probably be one if, if not the biggest in my career for the last ten years."
Rory McIlroy moves to top-five on the leaderboard at the Olympics
Rory McIlroy has surged to the top-five in the Olympics golf men's event on the third day. He's 5-under for the third round with four holes to go. He has been bogey-free for the day and has picked up five birdies.
McIlroy is aggregating at 10-under and is just three strokes behind Great Britain's Tommy Fleetwood. After completing 10 holes, Fleetwood is 2-under for the day and 13-under for the week.
Spain's Jon Rahm is just one shot behind, while Denmark's Nicolai Hojgaard is at 11-under alongside Xander Schauffele.