He did more chatting than he did practicing.
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Named to the U.S. team only after Jordan Spieth withdrew due to concerns over the Zika virus, Kuchar had already moved into the bronze position after going four-under on the front nine.
“It’s not something I pushed on him, I think it’s just the fact that the Olympics is an event that takes over the world for a few weeks and you can’t really ignore it”.
“I hit it to three inches there in the first round, and I said to my caddie that it would be special to do it in the Olympics. It sits alongside the US Open trophy for me”. “You can’t compare it to anything else”.
“It’s an opportunity that comes around so rarely and I’m certainly happy it’s fallen on my plate”. You had (Henrik Stenson), the British Open champion; the Masters champion in (Danny) Willett.
“I’m pretty sure I’m not going to hit a 9-iron the same place Bubba Watson hits a 9-iron”, Ko said.
“I thought there’d be (only) 3,000 people and it’s been a roaring success”. I just said to him, “Great summer – winning The Open Championship”, I was so pleased for him. I don’t know if I would ever take that medal off. Not in America, but here in Brazil?
“Talking about today alone I was able to play intelligent golf”.
The women’s Olympic Golf Tournament begins on Wednesday at the same venue where Justin Rose won the gold medal over Henrik Stenson to highlight a stirring final day at the men’s competition.
When both said they would not go to Rio over health concerns, Kuchar squeezed by to take the final spot.
“Honestly this is a dream come true”, said Rose. It was jam packed, a sellout, which is more than some of the other events I’ve been watching on TV. “From that perspective, it’s been a very successful sport this week”. “My heart started pounding out of my chest”, Kuchar said. Fantastic support from the crowds. Many guys are going to win tournaments between now and the next Olympic Games, there’s going to be 16 majors between now and then, but there’ll be little old me, just bragging away about my gold medal. “I felt strong, my recovery was great and each day I came out playing my best golf”. “What a great showdown at the end. I heard that some of the athletes might come out and watch me play, and I think even more then I’ll be super excited to see the Silver Fern and see all the logos”. “It’s a clear victor going forward”.
But there will be other issues to sort out.
“But there are many myths around golf that we have to debunk”.
International Golf Federation (IGF) officials said before the tournament that the sport’s inclusion had sparked a huge interest in nations that have little tradition or history in the sport. Those who put themselves out there every four years, who embrace the spirit and decline to whine about how this really jumbles their schedule just might be in line for a unique week of golf.
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To that end, the IGF can stay prominent by discussing ways to improve golf during the next year. For the last 112 years, the “game for the elite” was shelved. “I didn’t play my best”.
