Commentators were forced to apologise after Rory McIlroy used ‘some colourful language’ during the opening round of golf at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The golf finally got underway on Thursday morning at Le Golf National course with the likes of Great Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick swinging for gold.
McIlroy, who is representing Ireland and not Team GB, finished the first round three-under-par, with some work to do to catch leader Hideki Matsuyama of Japan who carded eight-under.
The 35-year-old also kept commentators on their toes after a sweary outburst on the 17th hole.
As he tee shot veered to the right, McIlroy appeared to shout ‘s**t’, and though the audible wasn’t entirely clear, the Discovery commentators immediately issued an apology to viewers.
‘A colourful character, some colourful language,’ one said before chipped in: ‘Apologies for anything that came through the mic.’
After losing the US Open in heartbreaking fashion and crashing out of The Open in embarrassing fashion, McIlroy is hoping some Olympic gold can remedy his woeful form.
‘Solid start. A bit up-and-down, which is to be expected,’ he said in the clubhouse.
‘A little disappointing with the three-putt at the last. Something to build upon. 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 was] not [expecting] this. 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’d say maybe 25 per cent 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.
‘There’s a few more flags and there’s a bit more, I don’t know what the word is, like nationalism. But we were all really well-supported out there. It was great to see.’
Meanwhile, Fleetwood finished the day on four-under-par, with Fitzpatrick far behind on one-over after 17 holes with the Brit yet to finish after play was suspended twice because of a risk of lightning strikes at the course.
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