It is good news to all golf fans out there. Finally it will be time to tee off at the Olympics. It did involve a lot of begging but finally the International Olympic Committee allowed the game in. as much as this is a sport where most advertisers come in, being in the Olympics takes it a whole new level.
RIO DE JANEIRO — Never has such a standard beginning to golf ever been more welcome.
Years of meetings, brouhahas, a little begging and international media attention branding golf all but the greatest calamity to hit the Olympic movement, the sport returned after 112 years in unspectacular but gently emotional fashion when Brazil’s Addison da Silva struck the opening tee shot.
Upon hitting his ball up the right center of the fairway, the 44-year-old chosen to open golf’s return to the Games walked back to his bag near International Golf Federation officials, let out a sigh, and pulled off the moment without a hint of great stress. But watery eyes suggested the moment had understandably gotten to the 12-time Sunshine Tour winner playing before his home nation that greeted him with a louder ovation than playing partners Graham DeLaet and Ben An.
Sourced from: http://www.golfdigest.com/story/golf-in-the-olympics-finally-resumes-104-years-later-tears-shed
So what should people have known about the Rio Olympics in terms of golf?. First of all this is not the kind of a first class course like those people see at the PGAs. This is a game for the public since the tickets are very cheap. It should not surprise you when an animal pops up.
Let’s take a look at nine things you should know about golf at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
- The field is not strong … As in it’s roughly the same as the 2015 Sony Open. That is bad. That is really bad.
- … because six of the top 10 players in the world pulled out. They all cited various reasons, but here is the list of all the golfers who qualified for but eventually pulled out of Rio. You could probably have a higher-ranked tournament with the names on this list than you will this week at the Olympics.
- Tickets are cheap. You can get a pass on the first three days for $15.75, which seems like a steal considering four of the 10 best players in the world will be there. You can’t get into the John Deere Classic for that little. They do go up to $31.50 for the final round of both the men’s and women’s events, but that’s still a steal to see the first gold medal since 1904.
- Animals are taking over the course. The Rio course looks terrific, and several animals native to the area think so as well. From capybaras to these intense-looking owls, there will be quite a few external hazards to look out for when the first tee shots go in the air on Thursday.
Sourced from: http://www.cbssports.com/golf/news/2016-rio-olympics-nine-things-to-know-as-golf-returns-to-the-summer-games/
Truth is not everybody loves golf. Watching a ball being hit is not the same as watching a ball being kicked around. The big names in golf pooled out. Seems as much as the game is now an Olympic sport, the players have to be paid millions to show.
Olympic Games finally reveals seductive side as golf tees off
Golf will return to the Olympic Games on Thursday morning after a 112-year absence amid a deluge of late-order positivity, despite the negative headlines that surrounded the build-up to the tournament.
“You don’t often get as strong a field as we have here unless you are paying guys millions of dollars to turn up,” Danny WILLETT (GBR) said after his first practice round at the Olympic Golf Course.
In a stroke the 2016 US Masters champion put to bed the frenzy that surfaced when the world’s top four ranked male golfers pulled out of the Rio 2016 Games earlier this year.
The field gathered for the first men’s Olympic golf competition since 1904 features six major winners, including two of the 2016 champions (WILLETT and Open championHenrik STENSON, SWE) and seven of the world’s current top 15.
Sourced from: http://www.igfgolf.org/2016/08/10/olympic-games-finally-reveals-seductive-side-as-golf-tees-off/
