“I had secretly fingers crossed, hoping players would pull out”, Kuchar said Tuesday. “As a fan of sport, this is a boyhood dream”.
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Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed and Matt Kuchar are bedding into life at the Olympic Village ahead of Thursday’s return of Olympic golf after a 112-year absence.
Representing your country, be it at a Ryder Cup or the Olympics, transcends golf’s historic motivations of individual accomplishment, and if some failed to see the big picture through the fog of uncertainty, it’s as understandable as it is unfortunate.
“Storylines and headlines tend to be attention-grabbers and I’d heard word from Gil Hanse (designer of the Olympic golf course) that he’d spent months and months here, never (had) an issue”.
The sport’s reintroduction to the Olympics has had its share of setbacks and naysayers.
The top four players in the world, Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy, all chose to withdraw from the South American showpiece and the quartet received heavy criticism.
At this point, it’s irrelevant. They were probably wishing they would have been able to come or made that decision to come. “But at the same time that’s not the reason that I got into golf”. It’s time to talk about the ones who are.
Fowler has been in Brazil the longest of the Americans, having arrived last week to participate in the Opening Ceremony and embrace the full Olympic experience, but his USA condo-mates offered a similar message on Tuesday.
“To be able to call yourself an Olympian, it’s hard to explain”, Reed said. “It’s so cool, and to have this opportunity is just fantastic”.
“I didn’t get into golf to try and grow the game”. He’s been staying in the athlete’s village, where he’s hung out with the diving team while watching many other Olympic events on TV. Kuchar took in some table tennis Monday.
Bubba Watson was desperately trying to land tickets to the handball competition. All four planned to attend the swimming finals Tuesday night to cheer on golf nut Michael Phelps.
“Michael Phelps, the greatest Olympian of all time, is a golf junkie”.
“I think the event is going to go off great”, Kuchar said.
Spieth had previously mentioned “other bacteria stuff” and “security threats” in Brazil as factors, but Kuchar and team-mate Rickie Fowler have been at pains to make it clear to their absent compatriots that they are enjoying a safe and enjoyable Olympic experience.
“As for making guys jealous back home, I feel like I am doing a pretty good job of it”, Fowler said. “There may be some personal messages that have been sent back and forth”.
“I wouldn’t say there’s disappointment from other athletes”.
The American also captured some footage of the large guinea pig-like animals that have made the Olympic Golf Course home since its creation, the native Brazilian capybaras harmless to those competing but abundant in the area.
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Said Germany’s Martin Kaymer, “For me, it would have been a big mistake not to come”. I wouldn’t say that they are upset or disappointed about it. It belongs, because it’s a grand game, played by athletes who don’t dope or cheat. It belongs, because it is older than all but a few sports in the Olympic program.
