Golf made its return to the Olympics in Rio in 2016 after a 112-year absence, but not everyone welcomed the decision and rushed to find out how they could qualify.
Dustin Johnson was the first player to pull out of Tokyo 2020, deciding to put all his efforts into the FedEd Cup Playoffs.
He’s not the only player to have shunned the extravaganza before now.
Rory McIlroy pulled out due to fears of the Zika virus prior to Rio 2016, but he’d changed his mind about golf’s place in the Olympics when he teed it up in Tokyo.
“I made some comments before that were probably uneducated and impulsive,” he said.
“But coming here experiencing it, seeing, feeling everything that goes on, not just Olympic golf but just the Olympics in general, that sort of Olympic spirit’s definitely bitten me and I’m excited how this week’s turned out and excited for the future.”
Jon Rahm, who will he hoping to notch a gold for Spain, offered his take prior to winning LIV Golf’s latest event, LIV Golf UK, at the JCB Golf & Country Club in Staffordshire.
“It is a different answer I would say for a lot of golfers. It is not something we grew up knowing was a possibility,” said the 2023 Masters champion.
“I think for us competing it is one of the most impressive feats in sport. To win a gold medal is something only a few people in history are able to do.”
There are a number of reasons why people scoff at golf’s place in the Olympics.
That it’s not the pinnacle of the sport – those would be the Major Championships – and that it should be for amateur golfers, not mega rich professionals, are among those.
The Olympic golf format, regular 72-hole strokeplay, has also been questioned, with many critics suggesting that this should be changed to better showcase the sport.
This is where we could see a change for golf in four years’ time, when the sport will be in the Olympics for the fourth consecutive time.
In Paris this year, the format for both the men and women will be 72-hole strokeplay, but another contest could be added.
The International Golf Federation (IGF), the governing body for golf in the Olympics, has confirmed reports from earlier this year that a proposal was made to the International Olympic Committee for a mixed golf event in Los Angles.
The proposal was for 16 teams of two…
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