McILROY Rory

General
REPRESENTING IRELAND IN TOKYO
He has said that his decision to not compete at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro was influenced by a reluctance to choose whether to represent Ireland or Great Britain at the Games. After confirming his intention to compete for Ireland at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, he said his stance on the issue of choosing which country to represent had changed. "I think it changed whenever I started to think about myself and not the opinions of others. I don't want to go through life making decisions based on what people say, or think, because they're going to think what they think anyway. Obviously, I'll be playing under an Irish flag and if I get to the podium, or win, people will be happy and that's great. But going to the Olympics is not about that for me. That's not why I'm playing. I'm going because I want to have a great experience. And that might sound selfish but that's how I feel. I feel more a citizen of the world than anywhere else. I've made my home in America; I grew up in Northern Ireland; I play for Ireland. It's a complicated dynamic. I've cared too much about what people say. So, as long as golf is in the Olympic Games, I'm going to do everything I can to play." (belfasttelegraph.co.uk, 17 Feb 2020; golf.com, 08 Jan 2017)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
In 2021 he was elected as chair of the Player Advisory Council for the PGA Tour. In 2013 he set up The Rory Foundation, which supports children's charities around the world. In 2011 he was appointed as an ambassador for UNICEF Ireland. (pgatour.com, 23 May 2021, 12 Apr 2015; bbc.co.uk, 05 May 2021; dailymail.co.uk, 16 Mar 2015; mirror.co.uk, 20 Jul 2014)