No-win situation for McIlroy no matter what country he chose to represent

So finally he has come down off the fence and declared his allegiance to the auld sod. What a relief for us golfing Taigs to know that one of the best golfers in the world is one of us.

Rory McIlroy has made the huge decision to declare his nationality in a debate that has raged since the decision to include golf in the Olympics in 2016 was made over five years ago. After much deliberation, our boy wonder has thrown the Red Hand out of his golf bag and replaced it with the tricolour.

What a difficult decision to make for a young sports star whose reputation is affected by his declaration of nationality – but certainly his golfing future is not in any way compromised by the decision.

Indeed some could say that young Rory's association with the Golfing Union of Ireland, with its southern base, is reason enough for him to repay their formative support with his huge professional success. They may well have an argument.

The fact is that Rory was always in an invidious position on the edge of the North/South divide, having to make a decision about where he feels the closest ties having been reared in the grey environment of a nascent peace in Northern Ireland.

Awkward questions

I do recall marvelling at how he batted away awkward questions and came out with his wicket intact. The imagery itself would have been frowned upon in an Ireland of old. Not today with our cricket team gaining international standing and our star player ‘defecting’ to the enemy, England, in a move to further his career and capitalise on his talent.

I refer to Eoin Morgan who rightly changed nationality to enhance his career. I totally support him. His choice will ultimately enhance Irish cricket.

The important point regarding McIlroy's recent decision is that as a top golfer there is no great career-enhancing move in declaring for a certain country in golf. The hero of last week's US Open, Erik Compton, who has had two heart transplants, could claim Norwegian nationality and probably enhance his chances of an Olympic medal more than by keeping his American nationality. But the question is whether the Olympics really matter that much to a serious professional golfer.

Lets face it, the ultimate in golf in our lifetime is still going to be a green jacket, a US or Open Championship and a PGA championship. A medal at the Olympics in Brazil would be a bragging diversion from the truth about the modern Olympics. Can anyone argue about the commercial importance of the Games now that Greco-Roman wrestling is reaching its final throws on th Olympic Stage. It will no longer be included after the 2020 Games despite being one of the original Olympian disciplines.

How ironic that a sport at the heart of the original Olympic spirit is being ditched for golf or tennis.

Winning an Olympic medal will fuel the ego of a modern golfer and probably disrupt an already packed August schedule. It is a chance to flex one’s muscles with elite athletes and pretend that golf is as much about athleticism rather than less physically demanding skill sets that define elite golfers.

I always believed that a medal in the Games represented the top, the pinnacle, the ultimate in a chosen discipline through a unique gift.

Now it is like some throwaway string to your ego in a golf game that desperately needs new markets. You will not hear one course designer, true to his/her trade, suggesting that more courses are not needed in China or Brazil or any emerging market that has the nous to embrace the ultimate capitalist game.

This is the reality for any leaders of a sport that is struggling to see a bright picture of its future development. Look no further than the directors of this week’s Irish Open and their foresight in aligning themselves to the African and Asian tours in order to provide venues for its members all year round.

Very supportive

Golf in the Olympics is a sell-out for the purist and a way of survival for the leaders of a game who are watching its growth numbers decline.

Poor Rory could not win for losing in his honest decision during our national Open this week. How poignant that an historic event like the Irish Open, which has felt the full force of economics on its tradition and had to be hugely bolstered by a very supportive European Tour during the recent hard times, should be the venue for the announcement.

I recall the inherent bias in claiming young Rory as their own in his recent Major victories of 2011 and 2012.

Each side of the old divide criticising the other for suggesting that he was one of theirs. I don’t know the extremely gifted and very likeable Northern Irishman’s politics or religion as they are totally irrelevant – particularly in a true Olympian context.

I do know that Rory has a caddie and manager from Dublin and is a huge supporter of the Irish rugby team. He is a modern Irishman in the hopeless situation of publicly taking sides in a divide that, in truth, never existed in his modern Irish world.