Anytime I can represent my country, I will be there. For the third straight Olympics, NBC will stream every event live, but that hasn’t included the opening ceremony.
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However, reports indicate that concerns over the Zika virus are once again at fault for a huge departure from the Olympic games. “What I’m hoping is that when we come to play in Tokyo in 2020 that the top players do support Olympic golf”.
Of course, Thompson will take some precautions on her own.
Most of the players who withdrew cited concerns over Zika, a mosquito-borne virus that the World Health Organization says is spreading rapidly in the Americas.
Dawson highlighted the impact the game’s reintroduction has had on IGF membership, which has increased to a record 147 national federations from just over 100 in the eight years since golf was given a slot for Rio. After playing the Scottish Open on Sunday, he said he was “all in”.
That all changes this year. The top four players in the world are waiting a bit longer. Just missing was another South Floridian, No. 21 Cristie Kerr, who grew up in Miami and competed quite successfully at No. 1 on the boys’ team at Miami Sunset High because there was no high school girls’ golf team at the time.
“I think that once we understand how those play out in front of a worldwide audience for television, a digital audience, an enthusiastic on-site audience, I think those are the things that we’re going to be focused on”. It says some were “most likely the result of the legitimate use of force, but many others were extrajudicial executions”.
He added: “We’ve had many withdrawals on the men’s side but the women have been very supportive”.
World number one Jason Day, number two Dustin Johnson and number four Rory McIlroy have all already pulled out. Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed and Matt Kuchar will round out the USA team.
Spieth’s spot went to Matt Kuchar, who only moved to No. 15 in the world ranking by making a 12-foot birdie on the final hole of a World Golf Championship in OH two weeks ago. Nine of the top 20 women in the world rankings are South Korean-not counting Ko, who was born in South Korea.
There’s also a crammed schedule that includes two major championships, a World Golf Championship event, the RBC Canadian Open and the Olympics in nine weeks.
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The IOC praised the legacy that the Games will leave to Rio, highlighting the new metro line that will link the city centre and beachside tourist areas with the main Olympic zone in Barra, and the new rapid bus transit (BRT) line that will link Barra with Deodoro, the second-largest venue cluster.
