Xander Schauffele didn’t mince his words when asked about Rory McIlroy’s comments post-round at the Olympic Games on Sunday.
McIlroy, who had missed out on a medal by just two strokes at Le Golf National, having struggled on the back nine while in pursuit of the leaders.
World number one Scottie Scheffler came away with the golf after seeing off a tight challenge from Tommy Fleetwood, with Hideki Matsuyama winning bronze.
The four-day tournament proved to be a roaring success for golf fans, seeing the best players in the world going up against each other for just the fifth time this year.
That aspect of the tournament wasn’t lost on McIlroy, who afterwards lamented the split between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour, describing the current state of golf as a “—- show”.
But Schauffele, who was asked about McIlroy’s comments after struggling in his gold medal defense and finishing tied for ninth,
didn’t have much time for the Northern Irishman’s complaints. McIlroy was always one of LIV’s harshest critics, but appeared to have softened his stance in recent months.
He said: “He kind of bounces around with his opinion, you know. He said that he… he’s reverted on that topic.” Schauffele did, however, echo McIlroy’s sentiments about the Olympics being a breath of fresh air for the sport.
“Yeah, I mean, there’s something to be said about it. There’s a lot of heart and patriotism. You’re proud of what you’re doing and the colors you’re wearing. That’s probably what he’s reverting to.
“It is a different feeling, and this year was incredible. You know, if you were in Tokyo, it’s cool, and this year is very different with the fans and the people and being able to see other games. It was much closer to what is a real Olympics experience.”
Golf fans will have to wait for next April before they see the world’s best players competing again, which will be at The Masters. The divide between tours sees the game’s best splitting up, though when the highly-anticipated merger goes through, that’ll all change.
The PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund are still locked in negotiations to end the sport’s divide, but McIlroy admitted he hasn’t heard anything from the PGA Tour Transaction Committee in a while. Speaking at the Olympics on Saturday, he said: “I have no idea what’s going on. I’m blissfully unaware.”
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Source: USA Today
