A bunch of capybaras have chose to take control over the Olympic golf course in Rio.
Advertisement
When golf starts on Thursday, it will be the first time that the game has been an Olympic sport in 112 years.
The men’s golf tournament takes place from August 11-14 at the newly designed Campo Olímpico de Golfe which is located in the district of Barra da Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro.
Canadian Graham Delaet was next up, welcomed into the first group as the last time an Olympic tournament was played in St. Louis 1904, his countryman Canadian George Lyon won gold.
The Americans have four players competing in the tournament compared with their rivals who have a maximum of two.
RIO DE JANEIRO – The game of golf has long suffered with issues of participation and growth. More than anything, he wants a finish that will be remembered for years to come – for the sake of the sport’s future in the Olympics and the future of his golf course. He got it when a handful of players ahead of him in the Official World Golf Ranking removed themselves from consideration, including US stars Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth.
“If winds pick up, shooting even par on the course will be nice”, he said.
If the men have put golf’s Olympic future in question, then the women have the best chance to make the strongest case that golf is better with the Olympics and the Olympics are better with golf. Fraser ran off four straight birdies on the front nine, and finished with two birdies in the last three holes. Michael Phelps winning his 20th gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly is the pinnacle of the former, while Brazilian Rafaela Silva’s gold medal performance in judo is a testament to the latter. A surprise victor from a developing golf nation like Li Haotong of China or Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand? Padraig Harrington was surprised to see more than 6,000 spread out across Olympic Golf Course, holding flags along the fairway ropes and sending cheers from all corners.
That said, for numerous game’s biggest names, players who need neither the opportunity nor the money, second place typically proves more painful than fruitful.
The grandstand alongside the 18th green is about the size of the one used for the RSM Classic on Sea Island, Georgia, a modest PGA Tour event in November that closes out the season.
But West Point golf fanatics can get a taste of the big game just by peeking through their home windows. Now it is but one of 39 sports or disciplines, many of them with a much greater tradition in the Olympics.
The other mystery is golf itself. If we wanted it to be hard and impose our will on the field, we would have done something different. “Bring awareness to people and create a bit more interest”, da Silva said. This is great competition, you just have to look around at the scale of the whole Olympic Games and what a big deal it is. “It’s a little trickier to find the golf and silver and bronze”. Not just for the fans and viewers, but the players themselves.
Advertisement
“I couldn’t hit the ball any worse and I couldn’t putt worse, ” he said. “When you’re the first to do anything no one can ever take that away from you. This week, you have 60 guys playing, and we are all winners”.
