The Loop
Rory McIlroy has the perfect response to two Irish boxers heckling him over Olympics, ex-fiancee
We're going to assume this was all in good fun. But still, two Irish boxers pushed friendly heckling to the limit (and a bit beyond) with a couple of tweets sent to Rory McIlroy over the weekend.
First, Michael Conlan used a photo with Rickie Fowler to make a crack -- with some inappropriate language -- about McIlroy not being in Rio for the Olympics:
And then, Paddy Barnes, the Irish Olympic Team flag bearer for Friday night's opening ceremony, used a photo with McIlroy's ex-fiancee, tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, to needle the four-time major winner:
Involving an ex? Even if you're a world-class boxer, that's pretty bold. Conlan retweeted that photo to stoke the flames some more, but to McIlroy's credit, he remained cool and came up with the perfect response:
Well played, Rory.
Of course, McIlroy was one of many golf stars to pass on going to the Olympics where he would have been an Olympic teammate of Barnes and Conlan. McIlroy, who is now engaged to Erica Stoll, cited a fear of contracting the Zika virus as his main reason for not going to Rio. Conlan enjoyed McIlroy's response, but perhaps, couldn't resist one last little tweak at the golf star.
Play nice, boys.