Padraig Harrington advises Rory McIlroy to side with the Great Britain team in 2016 Olympics
Irishman Padraig Harrington, one of the top-ranking Irish golfers, has expressed his hope that Rory McIlroy will opt to play on the Great Britain team in the upcoming Olympics in 2016, rather than siding with his native country Ireland.
As strange as it may sound to many of the Northern Irish golf fans, Harrington has a well-defined logic behind his diatribe.
He states that McIlroy’s acceptance to be part of the GB team will automatically provide another two spots for the other Irish sportsmen to be part of the Olympic squad at Rio de Janeiro.
Speaking at an interview with the The Cut Line, a program on British-based Setanta Sports, Harrington said,
"I’m fascinated with all this conversation about who we declare for. If Rory and Graeme declare for Great Britain, it means we get two more Irish guys into it. So if somebody wants Rory to be as Irish as he can be, he better declare for GB and we get two more guys in".
Poised at number two on the official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), McIlroy has a strong chance of qualifying for the Olympics, as top-15 on the OWGR will automatically qualify for the coveted event.
In case the young Ulsterman decides to be part of the GB team, Northern Ireland will get two more spots for other athletes in the event, brightening chances of more medals in various sports.
Golf is all set to return to Olympics after a lapse of almost 100 years when it was first featured in the revered games in 1900's.
The Olympic committee is under discussion for awarding the course design to many of the aspiring firms and has yet to announce the winning contractor for the job.
Former legends of the sport, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, and several others are contemplating to land the $300,000 contract to become the course designer for the first Olympic golf venue after 1904.
Harrington further stressed the need to make an informed decision with regards to representing the right country for McIlroy.
A three-time major winner himself, Harrington has won many laurels for his homeland in the course of his career.
Preferring logic over emotional nationalism, the grizzled veteran aims to provide more breathing space for the rest of the sports in the country which have been struggling for many years.
The recent upsurge of Northern Irish golf, helped relocate the Irish Open to Royal Portrush this year as the three major winners of the country, Graeme McDowell 2010 US Open, McIlroy 2011 US Open and Darren Clarke 2011 Open Championship, have all been supporting the return of mainstream European Tour events to Ireland.
The officials of European Tour, however, are reluctant to relocate the Open Championship at Portrush for the moment, citing lack of facilities for the major event.
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