Why isn’t Rory McIlroy wearing a hat at the Olympics? ‘My head is so small’

Rory McIlroy hasn’t been wearing a hat this week at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Japan, a strange sight for any professional golfer.

The reasoning behind it at the Olympics, though, isn’t what one would have guessed.

McIlroy’s head, it turns out, is just too small.

“My head is so small that I have to get Nike to make me custom hats, so whenever I’m in a team event and the hats aren’t custom, they’re all too big,” he said, via the PGA Tour’s Sean Martin.

Though it’s not an official rule, both the tradition behind it and massive sponsorship opportunities have always ensured that golfers on the PGA Tour and elsewhere have some sort of hat on during competitions.

Why Ireland couldn’t make McIlroy, the 19-time Tour winner who is one of the biggest names in golf, a special hat for the Olympics isn’t clear. Doing so seems like a no-brainer, especially considering he opted to play for Ireland instead of Great Britain — as McIlroy is from Northern Ireland, not Ireland.

Regardless, the no-hat look seems to be working for him. McIlroy entered Sunday’s final round at 11-under par, just three shots off Xander Schauffele in the lead.

Maybe he should go without a hat more often.

© Provided by Yahoo! Sports Rory McIlroy said he isn’t wearing a hat this week because his head is just too small. (AP oto/Andy Wong)

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