On the day the Rio Olympic flame was lit in Olympia, Louis Oosthuizen became the second major champion in as many days to announce he won't participate in the first Olympic golf tournament in 112 years. Adam Scott, who's long been opposed to the whole idea of Olympic golf, will apparently be "too busy" to represent his country, while Vijay Singh, who was presumably going to be Fiji's flag bearer, won't participate in the Olympics, either. I'm sure there will be others. Which is incredibly sad. Because these guys simply don't get it.
One of the reasons golf was voted back into the Olympics seven years ago is because of its worldwide appeal. Every week on the PGA Tour, you see the flags of different nations all over the leaderboard. Golf is played everywhere, and not just in the traditional Olympic powers (the current Olympic qualifying list includes players from Malaysia, Thailand, Paraguay, Singapore and India--to name just a few).
That's what made it really a no-brainer to be added. Well, that, and the star power. Pro golfers are some of the most marketable athletes on the planet. Many of them are household names in their home countries, and usually beyond. Sure, you'll have your Usain Bolts and Michael Phelpses, and your NBA stars on the U.S. basketball team, but, for the most part, the most well-known athletes in Rio are going to be the golfers and tennis players.
I'm sure we're going to see a lot of tennis players opt out of the Olympics, too. Unlike four years ago, when the Olympic tournament was at Wimbledon and everybody wanted to play, there's really nothing appealing about playing in Rio two weeks before the start of the US Open. John Isner, the top American man, has already announced that he won't be playing in the Olympics, citing the travel as one of his reasons (although Rio is only one hour ahead of the East Coast and doesn't require flying across an ocean, so the travel actually wouldn't be that bad).
However, we also know that some of the biggest names in tennis WILL play in Rio. Neither Novak Djokovic nor Roger Federer has ever won the Olympic singles gold medal. They both want the one thing they're missing (Federer was even talking about playing mixed doubles with Martina Hingis). And Russian officials are still optimistic Maria Sharapova will be able to play, despite the fact that she's currently suspended for failing a drug test (she's probably not one of the ones who'll get a free pass from WADA for using meldonium, since she admitted taking it after it was banned).
The tennis players know that they don't have to play in the Olympics. They don't get any prize money and they get minimal rankings points. It would be easy to skip and get ready for the US Open. But they don't. Whatever the reason, be it national pride or the prestige or the ability to call yourself an Olympic gold medalist, the tennis players show up anyway. And the IOC is incredibly grateful for that. Because they draw in the eyeballs. Without the big-name pros, no one would watch or care about the Olympic tennis tournament.
Just like the IOC needs the ATP and WTA stars to make the tennis tournaments worthwhile, the same holds true for the stars of the PGA and LPGA. There's one big difference, though. Tennis has established its place on the Olympic program. It's not going anywhere. You can't say the same about golf. While I think it's likely the additions of golf and rugby will be made permanent, they aren't yet. So far, it's just for 2016 and 2020 that they know they're on the Olympic program.
For the sport to ensure its long-term Olympic success, the best golfers in the world need to be there. I don't understand why guys like Adam Scott aren't jumping at the opportunity to be the first Olympic golf champion since 1904. In their eyes, the Olympics will never be as important as winning a Major. It's just another tournament in a year that already features the Ryder Cup. While that may be true (it's also true in tennis, by the way), that doesn't change the fact that golf in the Olympics is a big deal that should be embraced.
How important is the Olympic tournament? It's so important that the PGA Championship, one of the Majors!, was moved up a month (to just two weeks after the British Open) so that the dates wouldn't conflict with the Olympics. So, yes, the PGA thinks the Olympics are significant. They want and need the top players there and did what they had to do to make sure it can happen.
Fortunately, it looks like there are enough golfers who do understand the opportunity before them this year. Rory McIlroy was torn about whether he should represent Ireland or Great Britain, and the competition to make the U.S, team (where only the top four will qualify) is intense. I've read some quotes that qualifying for the Olympics is the No. 1 goal of some players for 2016. So, it looks like the Adam Scotts of the golf world are in the minority here.
Being in the Olympics is a wonderful thing for golf. Just like having golfers in the Olympics is a wonderful thing for the IOC. But it's only going to work if the players embrace it. And right now, it doesn't seem like everybody's completely on board. Which is a shame. Because you'll be remembered a lot more for winning an Olympic gold medal in Rio than winning the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill., which is that weekend's PGA Tour event.
No comments:
Post a Comment