McIlroy happy to be 'proven somewhat wrong' about Olympic golf

Rory McIlroy was pleasantly surprised by Olympic golf. (Getty Images)

Rory McIlroy was one of the most vocal — and blunt — pro golf voices that didn’t appear supportive of golf’s return to the Olympics. The four-time major winner said he would be watching the “sports that matter,” rather than golf’s first Olympic event in 112 years.

As it turns out, McIlroy didn’t get to see much of the Olympics. He was in upstate New York with his future in-laws in a cabin with no TV. However, McIlroy did get to see the finale of the Justin Rose-Henrik Stenson tussle in Rio. Between seeing the atmosphere and hearing from the players who participated, McIlroy was happy to admit he wasn’t quite right about golf and the Olympics.

“Obviously it pleasantly surprised me,” McIlroy said Wednesday at The Barclays on Long Island. “There was more people at the golf events than there was at the athletics. It was good to see, it really was. It seems like it was a great atmosphere down there. I think it was one of the cheaper tickets, as well, and I think that encouraged a lot of people to go.”

The crowds were good for the men’s final round on Sunday, with a sell-out crowd lining the Olympic Golf Course. That’s not something McIlroy expected to see.

“It was nice to be proven wrong somewhat,” McIlroy said. “I thought golf was sort of going to get lost a little bit. It was away from the (Olympic) village; I thought it was going to, yeah, just sort of blend in with everything else and be, not forgotten about, but just one of a lot of sports that are there obviously.”

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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