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| Ty Votaw, VP of the Int'l Golf Federation and CMO of the PGA Tour |
Ty Votaw, VP of the Int'l Golf Federation and chief marketing officer of the PGA Tour, spoke to SportsBusiness Daily about the Rio Games golf competition and what it could mean for the sport in Brazil going forward.
■ What are your expectations for golf in Brazil?
VOTAW: I think we’re realistic; obviously there isn’t a big golf marketplace here. But having experienced the people in Brazil who are devout golfers, and the Brazilian Golf Confederation that’s going to manage this property when the Games are over, and their dedication to a golf-for-all kind of program, where young people can be introduced to the game, and a teaching academy can be part of the overall facility, you have to just take it stone by stone and brick by brick, and build it.
■ Do you have any numbers in mind?
VOTAW: Not right now, we want to see how we experience this couple of weeks in men’s and women’s golf, make sure that we the IGF help the BGC to everything to make sure this property is a vibrant one, and its public access is one that can work, and we’ll see where it goes.
■ What do you say to the golfers who qualified but chose not to attend?
VOTAW: I’ve said all along that even before coming into these weeks, but certainly these two weeks, we’re going to focus on the Olympians who are here and not necessarily the golfers who may or may not be Olympians in 2020. All we care about is the experience that these guys have this week, and what the women golfers have next week. And from all indications they’ve had wonderful experiences. You can see on social media, you can see it with their comments to the media, and you can see it with their comments on this golf course. From that perspective, golf has already won in terms of what the reaction and experience has been from our athletes.
