Brazil's Adilson da Silva hit the first shot this morning at the Reserva de Marapendi Golf Course in Rio, marking golf's return to the Olympics after a 112-year absence. But the field this week has a decidedly different look than what the IOC likely anticipated when it voted to bring the sport back to the Games in ’09. Hampered by a busy summer schedule and the threat of the Zika virus, nine of the top 25 men's players in the world who qualified for Rio opted not to play. THE DAILY takes a look back at the road to golf’s Olympic return and how the men’s and women’s fields took shape.
2009
Aug. 13: The IOC Exec Board recommends golf for inclusion in the ’16 Games. R&A CEO Peter Dawson: “They recognise the star quality of many of golf's players and how that can add to the Olympics, and how golf being in the Olympics can help us grow the game.” IOC President Jacques Rogge, on if he is worried about top players competing: "We will find they are all excited about it, and they will be present. We have seen that in tennis, in ice hockey and basketball.”
Oct. 9: The IOC officially votes for golf’s inclusion in the ’16 and ’20 Games.
2013
March 7: Gil Hanse is selected to design the course for the ‘16 Rio Games. He says, “It’s a situation where we’re going to have a lot of casual sports fans who, you know this may be the only time they watch golf, and in countries where they never see golf on television. So I think that’s the opportunity that we’re looking to capitalize on.”
May 15: LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan says Olympic golf can do wonders for the women’s game. “It’s not only going to help that week and the following after but we've already seen it happening already where countries are really investing both physically and financially into the growth of their game.”
2015
May 14: Adam Scott (Australia) calls the Olympic competition an “exhibition” and says he is “not planning my schedule around the Olympics.” Scott: “Whether I win an Olympic medal or not is not going to define my career."
May 19: CBS' Peter Kostis says, "I have never bought into the Olympic hype. Having said that, I think it can do things for countries that are not golf-oriented. I think it can do things for the development of golf in South America or the Far East, other places where golf hasn’t been big. But I don’t think it’s going to do diddly squat for the U.S. or Australia or some of the other places that are big into golf.”
Nov. 18: Scott criticizes the tournament’s 72-hole stroke play format. Scott: "I'm not really sure how just having another golf tournament is really going to enhance the game or grow the game any more than any other tournament just because it's the Olympics.”
2016
April 12: Vijay Singh (Fiji) becomes the first player to withdraw from Olympic consideration. Singh: “I would like to play the Olympics, but the Zika virus, you know and all that crap." Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard says Singh’s withdrawal “probably opened the door” for a player like Scott.
April 19: Scott, citing a busy playing schedule as well as other commitments, says he will not play in Rio. Jack Nicklaus says of Scott’s withdrawal, “If the guys don't want to participate, then we might not be in the Olympics after this.”
April 20: South Africa’s top-ranked player at the time, Louis Oosthuizen, pulls out of Rio over scheduling. South African native Gary Player: "I would have given anything to play in the Olympics.” But SI’s Gary Van Sickle says, “I don't blame anyone who bails out. I wouldn't want to be the guy who brought the Zika virus to my home country." Countryman Charl Schwartzel five days later joins Oosthuizen as taking his name out of contention.
May 4: Rory McIlroy (Ireland) says of winning Gold compared to a major, "I don't know how that will stack up against the other things that I've done in my career now, but maybe I might look back in 20 years’ time and a gold medal might be one of my crowning achievements in the game.”
May 10: Marc Leishman (Australia) withdraws, citing concerns over Zika. PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem: “We have had a combination of things that have created some issues this year. But we seem to be doing OK, and I think we're going to have a superb Olympics.”
June 13: Top-ranked U.S. player Jordan Spieth says he is committed to the Olympics, but acknowledges the concern over Zika. “Being an Olympian is just an absolute tremendous honor. Do I think being an Olympian outweighs any significant health threat? No. If I thought that the threat was significant, I certainly would not go.”
June 20: Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson (U.S.) confirms he will play in Rio. Watson: "I’ve already taken my shots. The Zika virus doesn’t scare me. We can’t have our own kids."
June 22: McIlroy becomes the highest-profile player to date to pull out, citing Zika. He says, "My health and my family's health comes before anything else." Golf Digest’s Geoff Shackelford: “It’s such a disappointment because he’s such a global figure and he has the power to influence so many people.”
June 28: World No. 1-ranked player Jason Day (Australia) withdraws, claiming he "refuses to put his family at a health risk." Golf Channel’s Chris DiMarco: “If we see one or two of the Americans withdraw, I think you are going to see a long list of them go.”
June 29: South African Lee-Anne Pace becomes the first -- and only -- female player to remove herself from consideration for Rio over Zika concerns. She says, "My health and my future family's health must come first." The same day, many of the best female golfers stay committed to Rio. Top-ranked Lydia Ko (New Zealand) says, “It’s not every week, not every year you get to do this, to represent your country amongst the (world's) best athletes in other sports." Lexi Thompson (U.S.) says that she “can’t wait” to play.
July 8: U.S. Open winner Dustin Johnson becomes the first American to pull out, citing Zika. Johnson: "My concerns about the Zika virus cannot be ignored."
July 11: Spieth says he will not play in Rio. He says ahead of that week's British Open, "I’m a huge believer in Olympic golf. I am a huge believer in playing for your country. ... This year, I just had to try and weigh a risk that does not present itself every year.”
July 11: McIlroy doubles down on his decision not to play, saying, "I don’t feel like I’ve let the game down at all. ... I got into golf to win. I didn’t get into golf to get other people into the game.” He adds he will only watch Olympic “sports that matter.” Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee says of McIlroy's comments, "It’s an insult to everybody that’s worked tirelessly since 2009 to try to make golf better by its inclusion in the Olympics.” IOC President Thomas Bach says prominent players skipping Rio will have an impact on the sport’s Olympic inclusion in the future: “We see now in the discussion in the golf community, there are obviously very different reasons for not going to Rio, not related to Zika.”
July 19: The fields for the men's and women's competitions are officially set, with a total of 41 countries being represented in two 60-person fields.
Aug. 3: Matt Kuchar, who made the U.S. team after Johnson and Spieth withdrew, details his confusion about the stroke-play format. "Is there no team format at all? ... That was my initial impression of what was happening with the Olympics, but I’m incorrect on that." Though pleased to have qualified, Kuchar says it is a "bit of a shame" that the world's top four players are not competing.
