RORY MCILROY HAS given his clearest indication yet that he’ll line out for Team GB rather than Ireland in the next Olympic Games in Brazil.
The Holywood native won the BMW Championship last night in Indiana — his second event win on the trot — and today admitted that he ‘feels more British than Irish’.
“What makes it such an awful position to be in is I have grown up my whole life playing for Ireland under the Golfing Union of Ireland umbrella,” McIlroy told the Daily Mail. “But the fact is, I’ve always felt more British than Irish.
“Maybe it was the way I was brought up, I don’t know, but I have always felt more of a connection with the UK than with Ireland. And so I have to weigh that up against the fact that I’ve always played for Ireland and so it is tough. Whatever I do, I know my decision is going to upset some people but I just hope the vast majority will understand.”
The world number one claimed his fourth PGA Tour win this season last night — and sixth overall — with a two-stroke win at Crooked Stick Golf Club, and McIlroy said it was beginning to feel like the usual thing to be on top of the leaderboard on Sunday night.
“The more you put yourself in position and the more you win and the more you pick up trophies, it becomes normal,” the Northern Irishman said. ”It feels like this is what you’re supposed to do.”
McIlroy said his back-to-back PGA Tour wins after his Deutsche Bank Championship title last week meant confidence levels were as high as they could possibly be.
“Just playing with a lot of confidence right now,” he said. ”I’m confident in my ability and confident with the shots that I’m hitting and confident on the greens. It’s a nice run to be on, and I want to try to keep it going for as long as possible.”
World number four and BMW runner-up Lee Westwood (7.13) reserved special praise for McIlroy, throwing his hat in the ring to pair up with the two-time major winner at this year’s Ryder Cup.
“He’s a talent,” Westwood said. ”I played with him when he was 13 and you could see it then. He’s just maturing all the time. If he needs a partner (at the Ryder Cup), I don’t mind.”
If McIlroy does declare for Team GB, it may spell bad news for Westwood however, with each country entitled to send just four players.
