Olympic Golf Format Up For Review!
/From an unbylined Sporting Life story reporting on today's Peter Dawson press session:
Looking further ahead, Dawson revealed that the format for golf's return to the Olympics in 2016, could yet be changed when discussions are held with the International Olympic Committee after next year's London Games.
"The format of the event remains as per the Olympic bid, which was 60 men in one competition, 60 women in another, 72-hole stroke play event," Dawson added. "But there are a number of thoughts that perhaps the format is a little stereotyped.
"Could we get a team competition in amongst it, as well, is really what's on my mind more than anything else."
Exciting news all the way around!
**Dawson's full comments from today's presser:
Q. Talking about the Olympics, looking even further ahead, can you bring us up to date with the timetable and progress on the venue, the exact venue, of the Olympics golf and the format that will be used to play the tournament? And also, forgive me if I should know the answer to this question, but what's the situation about golf being part of the Paralympic Games?
PETER DAWSON: Right, thank you for that. The situation is that very recently, as recently as within the last three weeks or so, the Rio Organising Committee and the city of Rio confirmed that the Riserva Uno site, which is a site quite close to the Olympic village and quite close to the sea in the Barra area of Rio will be the site of the Olympic golf event. And commercial negotiations are currently underway by the City of Rio to acquire that site for golf, and a golf course will be designed by an architect yet to be determined and laid out on that site for the Olympic event.
In order to be in time, we need to get the architect appointed, his designs approved, and start breaking ground in 2012 in order to make the timetable for a 2015 test event of some sort prior to the 2016 games.
The format of the event remains as per the Olympic bid for golf, which was 60 men in one competition, 60 women in another, 72‑hole stroke‑play event. And whilst we do have perhaps an opportunity to revisit that, we won't be doing so until after the London games because there isn't an opportunity to discuss any variation to that.
The Paralympic Golf did put a bid in for inclusion in the Paralympic Games in 2016, which was not successful. The IPC rejected the bid, and clearly there is much more work to do if golf is to get into the Paralympic Games, most of which is technical/biomechanical/medical in nature and is huge is quantity. So we've been knocked back on that, and we're licking our wounds and rethinking on it.
And then later on...
Q. Just a quick clarification on the Olympics: You said you can't revisit format issues until after 2012. Does that indicate you would like to revisit?
PETER DAWSON: Well, the reason I say "we can't" is that we haven't got a real opportunity to discuss any reformat with the IOC. It's just a practical issue. But there are a number of thoughts that perhaps the format is a little stereotyped. But the format was based on our polling some top players as to what they thought it should be, and those top players thought the format we use for major championships should be the same format used in the Olympic Games?
Q. 72‑hole play as opposed month match play?
PETER DAWSON: I don't want to start that hair running because that wouldn't be right.
Q. But it's stroke play or not as opposed to ‑‑
PETER DAWSON: Yeah, or could we get a team competition in amongst it, as well, is really what's on my mind more than anything else.
MALCOLM BOOTH: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us.
