Former Olympian swimmer David Wilkie "dismissed the suggestion that the Games will grow golf globally," describing it as "absolute bullshit," according to Martin Inglis of BUNKERED. The 62-year-old Scot -- 1976 Montreal Olympics 200m breaststroke Gold Medalist -- said that "professional golf should not be in the Games, and called out Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus." Player recently said golf’s inclusion in Rio de Janeiro would "undoubtedly" grow the game, while Nicklaus referenced "the boost the sport could have in nations like China, India, Russia and Brazil." Wilkie said, "I think it’s wrong for those players to say there aren’t enough Indians or Africans playing the game without realizing the impact and environmental damage a golf course would do in those countries. You just have to go to those underdeveloped countries in terms of golf and look at the amount of money it would take to build a golf course and the destruction it would cause of forests. It’s utter rubbish to pretend that, by making golf part of the Olympic Games, you’re going to attract a poor guy in India to play. They just can’t afford it. ... I think they're just looking after their own psyche in the sense that they want to build more golf courses because of the money they'll get paid for designing them." Wilkie was "also dismissive of how much players will embrace the Olympic experience." Wilkie: "If you’re not going to the opening ceremony, staying in the village, hanging around for the whole Games, going to the closing ceremony and just jetting in for a tournament -- that’s what it is, just another tournament. ... An Olympian should be everything that an Olympian stands for in the sense that I’m participating in one of the most important events in my life and I’ll participate through the whole process" (BUNKERED, 4/28).
