WE’RE going to assume this was all in good fun. But still, two Irish boxers pushed friendly trolling 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 McIlroy’s good friend 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 try and wind up the four-time Major winner:
Hey @CaroWozniacki I think we make a great couple, what ya think @McIlroyRory pic.twitter.com/Fk2nbMjlRh
— Paddy Barnes OLY (@paddyb_ireland) August 6, 2016
Involving an ex fiancé? 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:
https://twitter.com/McIlroyRory/status/762229518593560576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
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 jab at the golf star.
https://twitter.com/mickconlan11/status/762247190815338496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
