With controversy swirling at Royal Troon in the wake of statements from two of golf’s top players it’s time to cut through the PR and marketing BS and speak plainly.
Rory got it right and we all owe him a big “Thank You”for his candor even though it’s come a bit late and has become a distraction on the eve of the OPEN.
None of the elite golfers in our game (or any golfer, for that mater) has grown up dreaming of winning an Olympic medal but all, to a man, have dreamed of winning a major championship.
And the golf world, led by the global sporting media, judges and measures every professional golfer by the standard of being a major winner. We are relentless in labeling players on that achievement scale. Just watch how many times that theme is given air time on Golf Channel this week in the run up to and during The OPEN. We all know the unlucky leaders of the dubious distinction of being ” the best player to not have won a major.
Sergio, Lee Westwood, Luke Donald are there of the top designees for this mantle of underachievement . Dustin Johnson just got off that list with his win at Oakmont and I’m sure that one of the many benefits of his outstanding, classy triumph is to be rid of that added pressure and condemnation.
So let’s praise the courage of Rory for speaking truth in the full knowledge that he would incur the wrath of golf’s ruling bodies, most talking heads, and the associated industry interests that have, at heart, a vested economic interest in Olympic golf.
The four golfers at the top of the OWGR have all declined to play at Rio and World No.3, Jordan Spieth, also made news yesterday as he announced he would also not participate in golf’s return to Olympic play. In my opinion, Jordan was less forthcoming than was Rory in discussing his reasons for skipping this event. But he’s a gentleman, a special player and a great ambassador for golf on a global scale so we’ll cut him some slack. In fact, none of the many male pro’s who have withdrawn from Olympic competition, save Rory, have been entirely candid, I think.
At the core of this small rebellion of elite golfer’s is a scheduling issue. And it’s an issue not for just this season but also for these player’s full careers.
The Olympic schedule caused a major reshuffling of the major schedule with the PGA Championship taking the brunt of it, moving from it’s traditional mid August slot to the end of July. With four majors, four world golf championships, regular tour events and commitments, The FedEx Cup Playoffs and Tour Championship and the Race to Dubai the top golfers already have a fully booked schedule and it was naive, at best, for the powers that be to think that all their players were looking for another tourney to play, especially one with no pay day and with no proper place in the history of the game.
And the historical importance of championships won in a player’s career, his legacy, is the real issue here.
We honor golfers who have conquered the many obstacles encountered in winning a Masters, a U.S.Open, The OPEN, or the PGA.
Not so for an Olympic champion in golf, at least not yet, perhaps someday, perhaps not.
So let’s cut all the player’s who have opted out of Rio some slack and understand both their short term and long term concerns. And let’s cut out the negative talk around not playing for one’s country. Nationalism continually intrudes on sport to it’s detriment, I think.
The place of golf in the Olympic movement, the role of nationalism in golf and sport in general, the seeming gulf between golf’s ruling bodies and many of it’s top players are all significant issues that deserve some discussion.
But for now we’ll leave it there and, as our fearless leader at Links Life Golf, Jeff Skinner advises, let’s pay attention to the OPEN.
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