Golf is set to return to the Olympics on Thursday for the first time since 1904, and Arnold Palmer has written an Op/Ed about the historic occasion as part of his State of the Game series on GolfChannel.com. The following is an excerpt of his column that hit the site on Monday (THE DAILY).
“I know that a few of the game’s brightest young stars will not be participating in Rio, and that’s too bad. However, now that the Olympic flame is lit, the focus of a massive global audience will be on the players that have chosen our sport to pursue their Olympic dream. Inevitably, there will be compelling performances from high-profile veterans as well as previously unheralded young players who have taken up the game in developing countries."
"Golf’s four major championships have long been viewed as our sport’s ultimate melting pots, championships of the golfing world. But Olympic golf will be even more international. This year the men’s four major championships hosted players from a total of 30 countries; the four women’s majors contested so far have included players from 34 countries. But this month, the fields in the men’s and women’s golf competitions at the Olympics will feature golfers from 41 different countries."
"Will you be watching and rooting for the Americans during the Olympic competition? You bet, and so will I. So imagine the billions of people -- particularly sports-crazed kids -- in places like India, Bangladesh, Brazil, China and Malaysia watching their own countrymen and women competing and (I expect) contending on the greatest stage in sports. The global interest that spotlight will spur is incalculable. I suspect that only months after Rio, soaring grassroots interest in golf will combine with better funding from medal-hungry governments to launch our sport into a truly global, truly gilded future. In fact, we’re already seeing increased support. Since 2009, when golf was voted onto the Olympic slate, the number of national organizations supporting golf in their home countries has grown from 116 to 145. Imagine where that number could go."
