Olympic Golf Field As It Stands Now: 14 Outside The Top 200

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Hard to say if this is about where we would have expected heading into golf's 2016 Olympic debut, but Doug Ferguson says in his AP notes column that 14 of 60 men are outside the top 200 as it stands now. That is unlikely to change because of the qualification guidelines and may even present a greater disparity on the women's side given that so many top players are from the United States and South Korea.

On the "Pro" side, this theoretically means that those who qualify for the Olympics will have a great shot at medaling. On the Con side? Limited fields with more than 20% clearly not as deserving means we could get either a runaway, random victor, or a massive upset. The latter (underdog element) being less of an issue in my book.

Rio Olympic Course Handed Over; AP Still Mocks Golf In Rio

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You'd think that finding out Olympic athletes might get sick because of the disgusting waters would have quieted the assault on golf in Rio. But AP's Stephen Wade continues to mock the idea of a course in the Brazilian host city even as it marches ahead toward an actual opening.

A hand-off ceremony of the golf course from the developer to the organizing committee was as ceremonial as you can get, but that didn't stop the AP from covering it with its decided attitude that golf doesn't belong in Rio (neither do events in natural bodies of water so contaminated that athletes may get ill).

AP's Wade twice tweeted his story with (two!) attempts to liken golf in Rio to building a bullring in Finland. I'll give you a moment to absorb that metaphorical mastery. Oh wait, it made the story too.

The legacy for the sport is unclear.

Few people play golf in Brazil, and Paes has acknowledged the game probably has little future in the South American country. Some have compared building a golf course in Brazil to setting up a bullring in Finland.

Some!

"In Brazil I don't think there's much legacy for a golf course," Paes said. "I've always said that. I don't think this is something Brazil is very famous for, delivering courses. It's not a popular sport in Brazil. But there are some things you need to do when you deliver the Olympics."

Carlos Nuzman, the head of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, contradicted the mayor just minutes later.

"It's a big legacy," Nuzman said. "It's a public golf course. There are a lot of young kids — boys and girls — who want to participate to develop golf. It's a chance for golf in a new region of the world to be developed."

The sure winner is probably the developer Mauro, who is building the course with private money. It follows the pattern of other Olympic projects in Rio, where large real estate interests have moved in. Another is the nearby Athletes Village — 3,600 high-end apartment units — that will be sold off after the games.

Mercifully, AP's Doug Ferguson will be covering Olympic golf and he won't muddle his lede with some bizarro agenda.

I'm sensing if Stephen Wade covered the final round of the men's golf, his lede would look something like this:

Golf's future in Rio remains uncertain, but that didn't stop Jordan Spieth from holding off Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Vijay Singh, Adam Scott and Rickie Fowler in sudden death to capture the first Olympic gold medal in golf since 1904.

Anyway, looks like a nice casual handoff ceremony...

Adam Scott Reiterates, Expands On His Disdain For Olympic Golf

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Some have questioned how someone who tends to go about his way quietly could have such strong resentment toward golf in the Olympics, so it's good to see Adam Scott elaborating on his disdain.

From an unbylined story in The Age on the eve of the Australian Masters:

He said he would have liked organisers to have been more "creative" and considered a mixed team event.

"I'm not really sure how just having another golf tournament is really going to enhance the game or grow the game any more than any other tournament just because it's the Olympics.

"With the field criteria it doesn't necessarily get the strongest field in the game either."

He is correct on both points, though the field make-up is by far much less egregious than the mundane format which was, sadly, endorsed by Scott's peers.

Such A Relief Files: Vijay Agrees To Represent Fiji In Rio

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Granted, he still has to qualify and stay off the deer antler spray, but because of the Olympic Golf format the 52-year-old should be eligible to represent Fiji next summer in Rio.

And because I know you were losing sleep at night wondering what his decision would be, I bring you good news and bad news for whoever gets stuck in an Olympic Village room with the Big Geezer Grump! He's in!

The Jet reports:

“Vijay is a proud Fijian who has been successfully representing our nation for more than 30 years, bringing great credit to Fiji by reaching the top of world golfing. For him to agree to be part of the Fijian team for Rio if he qualifies is something that every Fijian sports fan will welcome. Because I have no doubt that on his current performance, the chances of him doing so are very high”, he said.

The Prime Minister also revealed that Vijay Singh has agreed to mentor the Fijian Rugby Sevens team, which has already qualified for Rio, along with the Under 19s National Football team.

And when I think mentor, I think Vijay!

Photos: Olympic Golf Course Looking Like A Golf Course

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Nice set of aerials Tweeted by the International Golf Federation account showing the Rio 2016 golf course growing in nicely one year out from the Games.

You can check them out at this link and enlarge each a bit.

Most encouraging here is that the native areas look decent, meaning a year from now they have the chance to have taken on a maturity that will look better.