'Excited to see if he can get a second gold' - Rory McIlroy throws full support behind Northern Ireland's Olympic Games gold medal hero Daniel Wiffen
After starting his Olympic Games gold medal pursuit with a three-under par 68 at Le Golf National, Rory McIlroy threw full support behind Northern Ireland’s history-maker Daniel Wiffen as he chases further glory in Paris this weekend.
McIlroy, who sits five shots adrift of clubhouse leader Hideki Matsuyama after round one, watched on Tuesday evening as Magheralin swimmer Wiffen became the first Northern Irish athlete to secure gold in 36 years with 800m freestyle glory – a matter of hours before Belfast’s Jack McMillan and Coleraine rower Hannah Scott followed in his footsteps to double the country’s historic haul.
Wiffen is in contention for a second success in the 1500m event with the heats taking place on Saturday before the final is held at 5:36pm on Sunday.
With both representing Team Ireland in Paris, alongside the likes of Banbridge rower Philip Doyle who won bronze on Thursday, McIlroy will be paying attention this weekend as 23-year-old Wiffen looks to further cement his sporting legacy.
"I watched it on TV," McIlroy told Golf Monthly. "The last hundred he swam was incredible. Yeah, unbelievable. And then apparently I haven't seen it, apparently his 1500m is better than his 800m. Excited for Saturday to see if he can get a second gold."
McIlroy was part of the successful 2018 Ryder Cup team at the same French venue he’s competing at this week – the Holywood native picked up two points in the 17.5-10.5 triumph over America.
He recorded a bogey on the second hole before recovering in fine style, collecting two birdies and a sensational eagle on the par-five ninth.
McIlroy then endured mixed fortunes on the back-nine which included three birdies and a trio of bogeys, but he remains very much in medal contention with recent Open champion Xander Schauffele sitting second on six-under while three players are tied in third on five-under.
With hundreds of thousands of sports fans attending an array of events across the capital city, McIlroy admits the sense of atmosphere on the course “exceeded expectations”.
"Unbelievable,” he added. “It was surprising. With so many events going on spread all across the city, for people to venture out here and to watch us play, it was a really cool atmosphere to play in.
"I thought the weekend it might get a few more people. I thought the first couple days might be a little bit quieter but it was awesome. I think the crowd support that we all got out there was amazing.
"Obviously there's a few more flags...we were all really well supported out there. It was great to see. I'd say maybe 25 percent were more of a casual crowd or sports crowd rather than a golf crowd
"It's nice to play in front of that because it provides a bit more energy. As I said, I don't really know what I expected today but this definitely exceeded those expectations."