When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
The par-4 third can be stretched to 351/321 but will hopefully be set up shorter to entice players to drive the green.
Here is the Golf Digest flyover narrated by co-architect Gil Hanse. Here is Hanse's final rendering of the hole.
Could male golfers get themselves DQ'd from future Olympics while the women show off in Tokyo?
The chances are slim, but after reading Steven Wilson's AP story, all of the players who mentioned looking forward to future Olympic opportunities may look silly.
Wilson spoke to top IOC man Thomas Bach, and under Wilson's scenario, option is on the table to drop the men but not the women, though Bach did not say that.
The IOC will meet after the Rio Games to evaluate golf and all other sports and events on the program.
"One of the main categories of the evaluation is, of course, the question of participation of the best players," Bach said. "Let us wait then for this evaluation. Then, of course, we will also speak with the International Golf Federation once this is available."
By evaluating events within each sport, the IOC could look separately at the men's and women's tournaments. As it has been almost exclusively male players who have been withdrawing from Rio, the IOC could potentially consider whether to drop the men's event and keep the women's tournament for Tokyo.
Brian Keogh of the Irish Golf Desk quotes Rory McIlroy at length, who says he feels even more peace of mind than ever not going.
Explaing his Olympics decision in detail, he said: “Zika is a risk but there are other risks attached to going to Rio from political unrest to security issues. So there is more to it that that.
“There were enough people around me, members of my team and my family who weren’t comfortable and I wasn’t comfortable going down there so I felt that the best decision for me was to pull the plug."
And he presumes Tokyo will be there for him in four years.
“We have golf in the Olympics in Tokyo in four years’ time and if I really feel the need to get that Olympic experience hopefully, I can go there and do that.
“I have no regrets. I have made my stance pretty clear and golf in the Olympics. I play for other things.
“Golf in the Olympics is great for golf and to grow the game. There is no question about that. But with the number of top professionals have decided not to go, that shows where it stands in our minds."
Hopefully Thomas Bach didn't see that last line!
Speaking to Morning Drive's Cara Robinson, Gary Player took his criticism of the Olympic WD's to a new level.
"I'm bitterly disappointed," said Player, the team captain for South Africa. "In America today, their plus-minus combined with car accidents and guns, 100,000 people killed a year, and you're going to go and play in a golf tournament where Zika is the great word. I think there's a greater chance of that happening to you in America than getting Zika. I was just in Zambia, where you have Malaria, and it didn't concern me at all.
"I'm really amazed," he added. "I just hope that it doesn't hurt golf. I hope we stay in the Olympics. I do believe we should have it for amateurs and not for professionals."
And Coca-Cola has coverted planned packaging featuring Jordan Spieth to a silhouette of a golfer, reports SBJ's Ben Fischer (H/T John Strege who has other details on the change in marketing approach).
It's a day that won't be looked on with much affection by those who admire the skill, passion and leadership roles Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy have been carrying for golf.
Inheriting and running with the torch handed to them in recent years--and enjoying the perks that come with the gig--these popular and impressive athletes have inspired young people. They've reminded the world that golf is a sport played by passionate figures. And they have done their part when called upon to spread the gospel of golf to new lands. But after passing on the 2016 Rio games for reasons that seem less than their normally honest feelings, they've fumbled the torch each seemed so proud to have taken from golf's revered champions of the past.
Golf in the Olympics, while flawed due to the format and crowded schedule, is still one week out of their lives that could have cemented them as ambassadors, world-class sportsman willing to eat Olympic Village food for a week, and all around gents who love golf so much they'll show up in Rio for four whole days of potentially exciting golf.
However, the lads have stumbled in passing on Rio for an undisclosed health reason (Spieth), and altogether dismissing Olympic golf in a petty manner (McIlroy).
Spieth, who had called this a fifth major, signed with Olympic presenting sponsor Coca Cola to be part of its campaign, and who genuinely seems determined to become a sporting legend, could never quite disclose the reason he waffled right up to the inopportune moment of announcing his decision at a major championship (Alex Myers with Spieth's comments here.)
More disconcerting was the assertion that this was the hardest decision of his life, paramount to a college choice. While many around the world would envy someone who has never faced a decision more difficult than deciding to play in the first Olympic golf competition in 104 years or whether to go to UT or USC, the gravity suggests Spieth isn't quite prepared for the modern limelight that is so harsh. Trying to crack a joke about carrying the torch didn't help.
But at least Spieth seems to have genuinely agonized over this. McIlroy, however, went a disappointing path in belittling the competition by suggesting it is not one that matters. While John Huggan rightly notes the brutal honesty of McIlroy is, in part, why he is beloved and paid handsomely to be a global brand ambassador, McIlroy didn't have to put Olympic golf down because he's decided not to go.
The key quote from James Corrigan's Telegraph story:
“But, look, I get where different people come from and different people have different opinions. But I'm very happy with the decision that I've made and I have no regrets about it. I'll probably watch the Olympics, but I'm not sure golf will be one of the events I watch.”
When pressed which events these would be, he replied: “Probably the events like track and field, swimming, diving, the stuff that matters.”
As Jason Sobel wrote of the surreal at ESPN.com:
Unlike Spieth's delicate attempt to convey golf's relevance in the Olympics without his participation, McIlroy stuck a knife in the back of the event and twisted it. Hard.
Ultimately golf is an individual sport played successfully by those who think very hard about themselves, their goals and their needs. Spieth and McIlroy confirmed they are no different than many past champions in putting their needs first. The difference, however, is that while past champions were often selfish and inconsistent at times, they were never handed a torch resembling this Olympic opportunity.
**The Live From team kicked around Rory's comments and, kicked Rory around.
James Corrigan of The Telegraph sums up the first sign of irritation by International Golf Federation officials at male golfers who are passing on Rio.
He writes:
Dawson offered his “understanding”, but his frustration was clear. More than anyone, the former R&A chief executive made golf’s case to the International Olympic Committee and it is interesting that the 2009 bid was backed by all the top players of the day, including Tiger Woods. Each of the current top four had earlier expressed their support to this Olympic tournament with Spieth declaring he was going to treat it “like a fifth major”. However, despite the Zika danger, those words seem extremely hollow now with the game fighting for its credibility as an Olympic sport.
Frankly I'm amazed it took this long for some pushback or skepticism from the top Olympic golf officials, particularly those who have spent so much time backing the bid, vision and effort to globalize the sport.
Ewan Murray of The Guardian noted Dawson's punchier line.
In response to a subsequent question over how susceptible golfers may be to Zika, which is transmitted via mosquitos, Dawson replied with more than a touch of sarcasm: “I take great heart from the fact we haven’t lost a greenkeeper yet.”
It's been nice to not read Zika-excuse related stories but they seem unavoidable as Dustin Johnson has pulled out of the Rio Olympic games citing the Zika virus. From an unbylined AP story:
"This was not an easy decision for me," Johnson said in a statement released by his management company. "But my concerns about the Zika virus cannot be ignored."
Ignore we will and move on.
More fun was reading Randell Mell's quotes from the LPGA's finest at the U.S. Women's Open where Lydia Ko is chipping away at the lead (Beth Ann Nichols reports).
Stacy Lewis, while wisely wheeling out the understanding of Zika's grave threat to the male golfers of the world (rumors are it targets only those who play in The Open and PGA), notes this:
“It’s hard,” Lewis said. “Those guys play for so much money, and I think you kind of get lost in that at times. If I knew that I had the potential of a $10 million paycheck at the end of the year, I'd probably do my schedule a little bit different, too.
“You become a product of that environment. You have that opportunity to win that that money, you become a product of it. And you can't blame them for being that way. They are bred to be that way, with the amount of money that they play for.
“On our tour, while we have some pretty good paychecks, it's nowhere close to what those guys are playing for. So, to me, the opportunity to play in the Olympics, and to represent your country, is probably worth as much as winning a U.S. Women’s Open or winning an [ANA Inspiration] or winning any of those big majors. Winning a gold medal would be up there with winning a major championship, to me, and that's the difference of the men versus the women.”
Rory McIlroy, who was once excited about Olympic golf until Zika and New Balance uniforms came along, admitted that his WD call to captain Paul McGinley was one of the toughest calls he's had to make, reports Phil Casey (who also reports that Martin Kaymer can't wait to get to Rio).
Casey writes:
“That was probably one of the toughest phone calls I’ve had to make, because we’ve talked about it so much,” said McIlroy. “We’ve done so much work, got accommodation, got security down there, got a chef in, got everything planned out. I got my jabs; I had two dead shoulders for about four days.
“But then at the end of the day, if I’m not 100% comfortable going down there, I just don’t want to put it at risk. There’s another Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020 and I’m more than happy to wait until then to get that Olympic experience.”
It appears not many are buying the concerns about Zika, including the readers here. McIlroy has now been questioned by Bloomberg reporter Tariq Panja (here and here), who has asked the McIlroy camp for clarification as to why he vacationed in Barbados two months ago. Barbados is also a Level 2 Zika threat region, like Rio.
An unbylined AP story on Lee-Anne Pace of South Africa dropping out citing Zika keeps her consistent with everyone else from South Africa but Gary Player.
The 35-year-old said in a statement that she made the decision after discussing her options with her family and her team.
"I hope that everyone can understand that this was a very difficult decision to come to, however my health and my future family's health must come first," she said.
Matt Ginella talks to architect Gil Hanse about the Olympic dropouts and he's disappointed.
"The overall feeling is disappointment," said Hanse. "To have done what we’ve done, to have worked through so many challenges to complete the project, you’d obviously love to see the best players in the world compete on your golf course."
Hanse says he is contact with the team still on the ground in Rio, which includes the superintendent and the PGA Tour’s on-site agronomist, who are prepping the course for the Olympics.
"Morale is getting lower," said Hanse. “I’m disappointed for everyone involved."
Hey, but there is a morale boosting news! Camillo isn't out...yet, though keeping his card may end up the priority, reports Golfweek's Adam Schupak.
“Yeah, I actually heard Jordan Spieth said I wasn’t going to go play. I’ve been talking to Jordan and a lot of the guys. And I’ve got to be honest, Maria and I are trying to have kids right now. So the Zika is a concern,” Villegas said after the opening round of the Barracuda Championship.
Meanwhile the eligible American golfers were briefed and they're feeling better about things, but are waiting to hear on something else. Also a Schupak report.
“I’ve always wanted to go but I want to make sure me and my team feel safe on the health and security issues,” Rickie Fowler said. “There’s still some stuff ongoing, some logistics to work out.”
As all of this plays out, Christopher Clarey of the New York Times talks to Brad Gilbert and others about tennis returning to the 1988 games and the soft start that sport had due to various concerns similar to the 2016 issues golf faces.
“What’s happening with the golf is a lot like ’88,” Gilbert said. “A lot of the tennis players just weren’t quite sure, and there were some security worries in Seoul.”
No. 1 Mats Wilander, winner of three of the four Grand Slam singles titles, did not make the trip even though he had long relished playing for Sweden in the Davis Cup. Neither did No. 4 Andre Agassi, who would later win the singles gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and discover that it was one of the most gratifying moments of his career.
Gilbert was coaching him at the time.
“When Andre asked me what was the biggest regret of my career, I said if I could change one thing, I would have changed that big penny I had into gold,” Gilbert said, referring to his bronze medal. “And Andre pretty much planned his whole year around the 1996 Olympics.”
On Golf Central, yours truly joined Lisa Cornwell, Matt Adams and Tim Rosaforte for an Olympic golf roundtable.
No offense to all who have written in the wake of star WD's from the Rio Games who have suggested that this would not be happening if we had amateur golfers instead of pros.
Zane Bojack is just one of many who have written this in recent days, suggesting many of the emerging new talents in golf would have remained amateurs for the Olympics.
I think he has a point with the amateur game farewelling stars like American Bryson DeChambeau, Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick, Spain's John Rahm and Australia's Ryan Ruffels in the past 12 months.
If you don't know them yet, then you soon will as these athletes who've recently turned professional are the future of the game.
DeChambeau finished tied 15th in the recently completed US Open, Fitzpatrick took out the 2015 British Masters, John Rahm just finished third in a PGA TOUR event at Congressional and Ryan Ruffels turned pro at the ripe old age of 17.
These young guns should be the players competing for a gold in Rio, with the Olympics keeping them in the amateur game for longer.
Already there are fears Ruffels may have turned professional too early after missing the cut in seven events he has taken part in on the PGA Tour.
Unfortunately, the money to be made coming out of college is still there, as is the pressure to begin playing and earning status on various tours. I'm not seeing how an Olympic opportunity would change that or cause more to remain lifelong amateurs.
Here is the current World Amateur Golf Ranking top 20. All fine young golfers with immense talent but would anyone want to watch this field?
I know that Zika, the Olympics and scheduling debates do not make the most enjoyable golf reading, but longtime readers know I've been excited about Olympic golf's prospects in spite of the unimaginative format.
While I will not defend the selection of Rio, nor be hitting the streets there at night (or day!), I do think the Olympic golf course will send a great message to the world and become an iconic venue of the 2016 games. And once the competition starts, the intrigue will be there to see who wins, who surprises and who inspires. Then, we can go about finding a format that excites players, fans and the IOC, while maybe even peeking the interest of those who have not seen what kind of emotions are elicited by team match play.
In the meantime, however, a few things to consider before I ask your vote.
Jason Sobel nailed the entire male golfer/Zika/schedule/format mess in this ESPN.com column titled, "How Zika virus lets golfers off the hook for wanting to skip Rio Olympics."
Use the excuse that it's a crowded schedule and the Olympics are an unnecessary detour from their overall goals, and they'll be criticized for a me-first attitude. Explain that competing in another no-money event (in addition to the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup) is an unfair ask, and they'll be ripped for greediness. Suggest that playing once per year for one's country should be enough, and they'll be castigated for a lack of patriotism. Contend that traveling to a country with an increasingly unstable government is a poor personal choice, and they'll be tsk-tsked for eschewing private resort accommodations.
And then along came the Zika virus.
It became the perfect get-out-of-jail-free card for professional golfers. Despite medical experts insisting there is minimal risk of contracting the virus in Rio de Janeiro during the Olympic fortnight, it's impossible to denounce a player's decision to skip the tournament based on the long-term welfare of his family.
I have been in touch with folks on the ground in Rio, and golf course superintendent Neil Cleverly confirms that not a single member of the maintenance crew has contracted Zika. Furthermore, testing done over the last few weeks by the City of Rio health department found after a week of capturing and testing mosquitos that there were no transmitter Mosquitos found in the traps. Meaning that it is unlikely that Zika is in the area. Also, remember, the course is by the salt water and there is almost always a breeze. Not exactly mosquito breeding grounds.
As of June 7th, according to 2016 Rio Olympics Chief Medical Officer Joao Grangeiro, there have been zero Zika infections reported among the 17,000 athletes, volunteers and staffers participating in test events over the last year.
Reuters' Julie Steenhuysen reported that researchers at the Sao Paulo School of Medicine project that the risk of tourists contracting Zika during the Olympics at 1.8 cases per million people. Numbers suggest 500,000 international visitors are expected in Rio for the 2016 games.
I suspect this information has been passed along to the golfers. Now, as reader Mike notes in this RuthlessGolf post, there is a plausible explanation for male athletes having a greater concern than female athletes, assuming they do not want to use a condom for six months.
Moving right along...
Since everyone has a theory on why some of the world's best male golfers want no part of Rio--there are still many others who are looking forward to the event--what would you vote as the top reason the likes of Day, Lowry, Oosthuizen, McIlroy and Schwartzel have dropped out?
And mentioning a possible John Deere Classic appearance over the chance to win and Olympic medal?
Sad.
Yes, there's a lot to chew on with all of the Olympic golf WD's by the male golfers.
There is little doubt that Rio is a dangerous, strange place that isn't high on many summer must-visit lists. The idea of the Olympics landing in the middle of a busy schedule stinks. But we've known that a while. And Zika virus is a scary thing if you want to start a family in the immediate future, though few in Brazil are as worried as male golfers who fancy themselves as possible sires for a future King.
Oh, and no one working at the Olympic golf course has contracted the virus.
But with so many male pro golfers withdawing from the 2016 games, there's no doubting now that most of the world has had their stereotypes of golfers reinforced. While athletes in all other sports, including women's golf, are set to go to Ri the male golfers saying they will not attend are increasingly seen as soft, non-athletes. Given how well compensated they are, many of them will laugh their way to the bank and ignore the comments of fans or fellow athletes.
That's all fine.
To read that Jordan Spieth, once all-in on Olympic golf and now waivering on his 2016 participation, doesn't even bother me.
What bothers: he has the gall to suggest golf's prospects as an Olympic sport have dimmed because of the recent WD's. Sure, he may have some inside info from his sponsors at Coca Cola, who he also posts Instagram ads for only to be reminded by his followers about the dangers of soft drinks.
But talking down 2020 and beyond to possibly lay the groundwork for a 2016 WD? Lame.
Will Gray with the roundup of Spieth's Firestone press conference in advance of, ironically, the utterly meaningless WGC Bridgestone which, unlike an Olympic gold medal, will never be mentioned in any player's obituary.
The only data that officials will have at their disposal will be what happened in Rio, a tournament that is likely to be defined as much by who wasn’t there as by who ultimately stood atop the medal podium.
“No matter what I do, it’s already – there’s already been enough players (withdrawing) that I think it’ll definitely have an impact,” Spieth said. “Pending some crazy, great finish or whatever, I think there’s a significantly lower likelihood now of it staying in the Olympics than there was six months ago.”
I have an idea for Jordan! Let's get to The Open early this time like you plan, and leave the IOC-politicking to the guys in suits.
Meanwhile, Jason Day, who obviously regrets having to pass on Rio, at least was trying to be positive about golf as an Olympic sport going forward:
Q. Jason, do you hope that the decision makers that choose the sports in the Olympics and whatnot can look past this situation and not let it affect golf's future in the games and hope that it's just a one-off?
JASON DAY: Yeah, I think it is a one-off. It depends. Certain things we just don't know. Like something could happen elsewhere down the road, and unfortunately that could make people pull out. I just hope they look past this and go, you know, we're looking at the bigger picture and trying to grow the game, and hopefully if they can do that, then the Olympics can stay -- the golf can stay in the Olympics and everyone can move on to hopefully Tokyo and try and play there.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
