Schauffele responds to McIlroy's 's*** show' remark: 'He bounces around with his opinion'

Xander Schauffele believes Rory McIlroy 'kind of bounces around with his opinion' after learning the Northern Irishman had labelled the sport 'a s*** show' while also confirming he was now a converted fan of the Olympic Golf Tournament. 

Schauffele and McIlroy both fell short of a place on the podium at Le Golf National.

Defending champion Schauffele was left the most deflated of the two having briefly held the lead in the early stages of the final round.

But Schauffele would play the final 11 holes in 4-over par and he tumbled down the board into T9, which was seven shots behind winner and US compatriot Scottie Scheffler.

World No.1 Scheffler closed with a joint course-record 62 to see out a narrow one-shot victory over Team GB's Tommy Fleetwood.

Japan's Hideki Matsuyama was a further shot back in third, while home-favourite Victor Perez flew home to narrowly finish off the podium in solo fourth.

Related: Here's why Scheffler and Matsuyama made money at the Olympics, but Fleetwood did not

McIlroy also surged late with five straight birdies from the 10th but his charge was derailed when he plunged his ball into the water on the par-4 15th.

That led to a double-bogey six and McIlroy would finish T5, which was four shots off the pace and two shy of the podium.

After the round, McIlroy was pressed by a pool of reporters to give his take on competing at his second-ever Olympic Games following his first in Tokyo in 2021. 

Related: McIlroy on Olympics - 'Holy s***, what just happened?'

The Northern Irishman said ahead of golf's return to the Olympics in 2016 that it was "not the pinnacle" for golfers.

"Most athletes dream of competing in the Olympics but we dream of winning Claret Jugs and Green Jackets," McIlroy said when declining to participate at the Rio Games.

Fast forward eight years and McIlroy now has a very different assessment of Olympic Golf.

Rory McIlroy thinks Olympic Golf could soon rival Ryder Cup

McIlroy, who once again represented Ireland in 2024, described his week in Paris as being "amazing" and how the Olympic Golf Competition now "has the potential to be right up there with the Ryder Cup". 

The next Olympic Games will take place in Los Angeles, United States, in 2028. 

The World No.3 then raised a few more eyebrows with his choice of comment about the state of the game right now. 

McIlroy continued: "I think with how much of a s*** show the game of golf is right now and you think about the two tournaments that might be the purest form of competition in our sport, we don't play for money in it."

He is of course referring to the current divide in the professional game that sees a number of the world's best golfers still split across the PGA Tour and LIV Golf League. 

The PGA Tour is working on a commercial deal in the background with LIV Golf's bankrollers, the Saudi Public Investment Fund. 

But as of yet, we are none the wiser as to how or when the pro game will unify again. 

McIlroy was initially one of the strongest critics of LIV Golf when the circuit led by CEO Greg Norman first burst on the scene in 2022. 

It did seem as though McIlroy was starting to soften his stance on LIV Golf at the back end of 2023 and into the start of 2024, especially after holding a number of conversations with PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan.

But McIlroy went back in again on the eve of the Olympics as he fired shots at LIV Golf players who failed to make the Olympics. 

"You knew what you had to do," said McIlroy. 

Scroll below for Schauffele's take on McIlroy's latest comments...

Xander Schauffele says Rory McIlroy 'kind of bounces around with his opinion'

Shortly after McIlroy's latest interview at the Olympics, it was the turn of a frustrated Schauffele to face reporters. 

Schauffele - who last month replaced McIlroy as World No.2 after landing a second major title at The Open - was pressed for his response to McIlroy's "s*** show" comment and whether he agreed the Olympics had the potential to soon be up there with the Ryder Cup. 

The American did not quite go along with that assessment but did admit he could see where McIlroy was coming from.

Even if he had changed his tune again.

Schauffele said of McIlroy: 

"He [Rory] kind of bounces around with his opinion, you know. 

"He said that he -- he's reverted on that topic.

"But yeah, I mean, there's something to be said about it. There's a lot of heart and patriotism. You're proud of what you're doing and the colors you're wearing. That's probably what he's reverting to.

"It is a different feeling, and this year was incredible. You know, if you were in Tokyo, it's cool, and this year is very different with the fans and the people and being able to see other games. It was much closer to what is a real Olympics experience."

Schauffele and McIlroy will return to the PGA Tour at the FedEx St Jude Championship next week, which marks the starts of the three-week FedEx Cup Playoffs stretch.

The winner of the Tour Championship at the end of the month will be crowned FedEx Cup champion and receive a first prize of $25m.

Scheffler is a runaway leader having won six official titles on the PGA Tour this season.

The Olympics marked his seventh win of 2024. 

McIlroy is a record three-time winner of the FedEx Cup, while Schauffele and Scheffler are both yet to win it. 

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