The game of golf in 2016 Rio Olympics, a bad decision
In 2009, the International Olympics Committee announced the inclusion of golf in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Some appreciated the idea and the others criticized it. The pro-decision lobby defend the golf’s inclusion by the following points:
a) The Olympic medal will soon come tо rival the major golf championships, and
b) The world class players will be there at the Olympics in 2016
His argument is untruthful on both the counts.
The first point is not worthy enough to be talked about, as the game of golf undoubtedly fails to pass the Olympic test. Olympics’ gold medal cannot be the greatest day of a golfer’s life.
If Tiger Woods wins the gold medal in 2016 Rio Olympics, the title can never stand alongside his major wins. Besides all the pleasures of Olympic medal, it cannot be as pleasing as his victory in the 1997 Masters Tournament – the first major victory of his career.
Moreover, Olympics’ gold medal can never be compared to his 19th major win that he may achieve one day to get ahead of Jack Nicklaus’ most major wins in the history of the game.
Major championships are staged four times a year. On the contrary, Summer Games are held once after every four years. How can then an Olympic medal be a rival to the major championships?
As for the second point, a quick review of the Olympic format and the world rankings deflates the idea that the Olympics’ field will consist of top-notch players from all over the world. The reality is quite far from it.
According to the Olympics’ format, only top-15 golfers, regardless of the nationality, will be guaranteed to participate in the field of 60 players.
The remaining 45 golfers will also be selected on the basis of rankings, but only two players from each country can get the card. This will dilute the field significantly.
It is commonly observed that the only a few countries usually dominate the Official World Golf Rankings. Therefore, the format will not allow a number of top-notch players to participate in the event.
For instance, Bo Van Pelt and Hunter Mahan will not be able to make it into the 60-man field, considering their current position in the standings. Both are ranked 22nd and 26th, respectively.
On the other hand, a player ranked around 500th position may get a chance to compete for the gold medal, if he is from, say, Philippines.
How can the least-ranked players be considered to compete against top-notch players of the world? Definitely, no one can say that it will be a top-class player’s field. In fact, it will include only few top-ranked players along with many underdogs.
It is a considerable drawback of the format proposed by the IOC and it will decrease the interest of fans in the competition.
Thus, the decision of the inclusion of the sport of golf in Olympics is criticized by many golf experts, especially because of the selection format.
It will, no doubt, provide a chance to many low-ranked players to play in the event and boosting their morale. However, a number of top ranked players will also get demoralized because of their exclusion from the competition.
They all work hard throughout the year but cannot receive an invitation because a couple of their country mates will be ranked higher on the Official World Golf Rankings.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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