The Olympic golf tournament began this morning in Rio, but Int'l Golf Federation President Peter Dawson said that the governing body "will study a potential format change" for the '20 Tokyo Games, according to Rex Hoggard of GOLFCHANNEL.com. Both the men's and women's events feature a traditional 72-hole stroke-play format. Dawson said, “What you might see is some changes in format. We’ll be looking at that.” Hoggard noted any change to the format "would be a part of the general review of golf that will be made during the IOC session" in September '17. Dawson noted that if officials "added a team element to the Games it would also require additional scheduling, which was already stretched thin this year by the addition of the Olympics to the schedule." He said that the decision to go with a stroke-play event this year "was largely out of necessity." Dawson: "It’s a difficult one, really. The [IOC] want the Olympic champions to be champions in a mainstream sport, not in some format that the sport otherwise never uses" (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 8/10). Hoggard noted while the stroke-play format "has done nothing to dampen" Sergio Garcia’s enthusiasm for the Games, the Spaniard "did explain a creative format could have made things more interesting." Garcia: “I would have loved it to be something a little bit different. Maybe not doubles, but maybe a singles and mixed double event. You wouldn’t need two weeks, maybe five days to mix it up. It would have been fun, but it’s brand new and maybe they are testing the waters" (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 8/10). Golf Channel's Paul McGinley noted there is talk about "having a mixed event" in Tokyo. He said, "There’s some wonderful lady golfers, and men can play with ladies and we can have maybe a mixed portion. ... There’s great opportunities here to really grow the game and to show how much of an open sport we are" (“Golf Central Live from the Olympics,” Golf Channel, 8/11).
EMBRACING THE OPPORTUNITY: Golf Channel's Nick Faldo said it is “extremely significant” for golf to be back in the Olympics, and the players "sense it and they’ve really embraced it” ("Rio Olympics," Golf Channel, 8/11). GOLF DIGEST's Jaime Diaz wrote Olympic golf "will be a success," as the players who "bought in and came to Rio have seen their expectations exceeded." The "word of mouth from the participants will be vital to golf remaining in the games" beyond '20. Danny Lee (New Zealand) came to Rio "with a lot of misgivings -- about Zika, security, investing late-season energy on a no-pay event in a faraway land." But after only two days, he said, “I’m absolutely loving it. It's 100 times bigger and better than I expected" (GOLFDIGEST.com, 8/10). Justin Rose (Great Britain), who committed to the tournament early on, said, "I'm treating it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 8/11). Golf Channel's McGinley said, "I’m 25 years on tour now, and I’ve never seen an atmosphere like this among all the players. There’s a real sense of camaraderie, there’s a real sense of everybody wanting to be here” ("Golf Central Live from the Olympics," Golf Channel, 8/11). THE DAILY has put together a timeline of some of the key dates in golf's path back to the Olympics.
WISH YOU WERE HERE: ESPN.com's Bob Harig noted Ireland's Padraig Harrington thinks top players who decided to skip Rio "will rue their decision." He said, "The players who are here couldn't be more positive and couldn't be enjoying it more. I sense, as well, the players at home are pretty quiet on social media. You sense that maybe some of them would like to be here. Certainly I think some of them would definitely like to be here and they are missing out" (ESPN.com, 8/10). The AP's Doug Ferguson notes Germany's Martin Kaymer "doesn't understand why anyone would miss a moment like this." Kaymer said he realizes he "didn't do anything wrong by coming here" (AP, 8/11). Rickie Fowler (U.S.) said, "Words really can't describe it. I'm trying to make some of my other buddies that stayed home as jealous as possible. They're definitely missing out" (WASHINGTON POST, 8/11). Sweden's Henrik Stenson added, "Ten years down the line you're going to look at who won the gold medal, not who wasn't here" (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 8/10).
FIRST STEP IN GLOBAL GROWTH? Stenson said the return of golf to the Olympic program "already has helped grow the game." Stenson: "Being part of the Olympic Games, I think golf has real federations, and golf in certain countries have already been getting funds and have been starting to look at it differently." Harrington added, "I don't think anybody can argue (against the point) that golf in the Olympics clearly is going to bring more profile, brings more funding into so many countries" (ESPN.com, 8/10).
