Neither Jordan Spieth nor Rory McIlroy will tee it up at the Rio Games next month, and while Spieth yesterday "did his best to clarify his position despite a mystifying unwillingness to be specific," McIlroy "stomped on Olympic golf anew," according to Bill Pennington of the N.Y. TIMES. Spieth said that it was "going to be agonizing for him to watch the Olympic tournament from home." Meanwhile, McIlroy said that he was "probably going to watch the Olympics, but maybe not the golf competition." Pennington writes the "dagger fired around the world at the Olympic ideal was unmistakable." That it "took place less than 48 hours before the first shot of the 145th British Open was yet another setback for golf" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/13). ESPN.com's Jason Sobel wrote Spieth's comments would "bring a proud tear to the eye of any PR flak." It was "clear that he understood this was an unpopular decision but fully intended to emerge from it with his public image still intact." But McIlroy took a "contradictory approach to answering similar questions," and "clearly wasn't worried about the public reaction." Sobel: "Unlike Spieth's delicate attempt to convey golf's relevance in the Olympics without his participation, McIlroy stuck a knife in the back of the event and twisted it. Hard" (ESPN.com, 7/12). In N.Y., Mark Cannizzaro writes McIlroy “could not have been more dismissive of the idea of golf in the Olympics.” McIlroy’s "cavalier attitude about the Olympics was in jarring contrast to the comments from Spieth, who was subjected to what felt like a public inquisition.” In all, 14 of the 18 questions asked of Spieth at his British Open presser “had to do with the Olympics” (N.Y. POST, 7/13). McIlroy's comments were the "most stinging dismissal of Olympic golf yet" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/13).
TIME TO MOVE ON? ESPN.com’s Gene Wojciechowski wrote Olympic golf has been “kneecapped before it even reached the first tee.” As it stands now, golf will “likely be a two-and-done Olympic participant" -- this year in Rio and '20 in Tokyo. But to “entirely blame Spieth or the other no-shows for this situation is like blaming dogs for scratching at their fleas.” The “idea of golf in the Olympics is a noble and well-meaning one. Grow the game, and all that.” But if golf and Olympic officials “thought this was going to be some dimpled equivalent of the Dream Team-mania of the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, they were nuts” (ESPN.com, 7/12). In Newark, Steve Politi writes golf "doesn't belong in the Olympics." Politi: "Give its spot to squash, or karate, or even to the X Gamers and their roller sports." Those were "three of the other sports considered when golf and rugby were added in 2009, and all are more deserving that a sport with an indifferent (at best) collection of participants" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 7/13). In Detroit, John Niyo writes the Olympics "don’t matter to pro golfers, at least not the ones" the IOC "so coveted when they decided to give the sport a mulligan it didn’t really need, or want" (DETROIT NEWS, 7/13).
BLAME IT ON RIO: ESPN's Sobel said players over the years have "said they support the decision" to add golf back to the Olympics and "they want to be there." Sobel said he believes if the Games were not being held in Rio, "many of the top players would indeed be playing in this tournament." Sobel: "We'll see if that matters in 2020" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 7/13). Justin Rose, who will represent Great Britain at the Games, said, "I would say the golf is skipping Rio rather than skipping the Olympics. That's the way I would frame it this particular time around" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 7/13).
IN NEED OF A MULLIGAN: The number of male players to pull out of the Games has grown to 20 with the withdrawals of Francesco Molinari (Italy) and Angelo Que (Philippines) (THE DAILY). Ladies European Tour CEO Ivan Khodabakhsh said that male players "have let down the rest of the sport." Khodabakhsh said, "The opportunity to do something for the broader good of the game is in their hands and they seem to be taking a very myopic approach" (REUTERS, 7/13).
