Olympic Games: Rory McIlroy escape route

RORY McIlroy’s “worrying decision” about having to choose either Great Britain or Ireland at the 2016 Olympics could already have been taken out of his hands.

Both McIlroy and fellow US Open winner Graeme McDowell looked set to find themselves in an unenviable position over the flag they would be competing under for the sport’s return to the Games in Rio, but that may not now be the case.

“I think because of Rory’s history of playing for Ireland at amateur level, and I think at World Cup level, that there may be a regulation within the Olympic rules that would require him to stay with that,” reported R&A chief executive Peter Dawson.

“It’s quite ambiguous, really, but there is a rule that, when a player has represented one nation at a previous world championships from certain countries, that carries with you.

“Golf isn’t structured the same way as other sports, but I would very much like to take this burden of choice away from the player if we can possibly do it, because it’s not fair to him.

“I think he’s made it pretty clear in one of two pronouncements that he’s worried about it and the last thing we want is players worrying about this.”

The International Golf Federation has been worried about delays to a new course specifically for the Olympics getting started, but the permits have all now been secured and Dawson is confident the world’s top players, both male and female, will be playing on that in just over three years’ time.