2016 Olympics Discussion Thread

[Wally Fairway]

First event played at the Olympic course yesterday, it was a very limited field thing. Much more about testing the setup, and allowing an initial test of many things other than the playability. I have a friend who has worked on the course and he gives it very good reviews; I'm waiting to hear what he has to say after playing a full round.

http://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/olympic-golf-course-holds-first-competitive-test-event

 

 

 

[krupa]

It's official, Adam Scott is not playing in the Olympics because of his "extremely busy schedule.".  

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-central-blog/scott-skip-olympic-games-because-schedule/

I would probably make the same decision if I were in his place.

[boogielicious]

29 minutes ago, krupa said:

It's official, Adam Scott is not playing in the Olympics because of his "extremely busy schedule.".  

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-central-blog/scott-skip-olympic-games-because-schedule/

I would probably make the same decision if I were in his place.

Zika virus can't help either. He and his wife just had a baby and may be planning more. I would not take the risk.

[Chilli Dipper]

29 minutes ago, krupa said:

It's official, Adam Scott is not playing in the Olympics because of his "extremely busy schedule.".  

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-central-blog/scott-skip-olympic-games-because-schedule/

I would probably make the same decision if I were in his place.

Does Australia get to nominate another golfer to inherit the entry Adam will certainly qualify for, or does this mean the highest-ranked player from Uzbekistan get invited instead?

[boogielicious]

1 minute ago, Chilli Dipper said:

Does Australia get to nominate another golfer to inherit the entry Adam will certainly qualify for, or does this mean the highest-ranked player from Uzbekistan get invited instead?

Tajikistan comes first alphabetically, so they will get a player. 

[krupa]

4 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

Zika virus can't help either. He and his wife just had a baby and may be planning more. I would not take the risk.

Yeah, Vijay Singh mentioned Zika when he pulled out.

1 minute ago, Chilli Dipper said:

Does Australia get to nominate another golfer to inherit the entry Adam will certainly qualify for, or does this mean the highest-ranked player from Uzbekistan get invited instead?

I guess Marc Leishman is next in line, but his wife has been sick and so he may skip it as well.

[Dave2512]

I can see Zika making a mess of this. I wouldn't go down there and kids will never be my thing again. Seems every day something new is revealed, don't know exactly what it is yet. 

[krupa]

Add Mr. Oosthuizen to the "not competing" list.

http://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/%E2%80%8Blouis-oosthuizen-latest-golfer-not-competing-2016-olympics

[cutchemist42]

Im just not interested in this the same way I dont care about the tennis event at the Olympics. Its not a premier event in those sports, and frankly , a country like Brazil wasting money on an Olympic golf course rubs me the wrong way.  (I overall oppose this whole Brazil Olympics)

A team format would have intrigued me. (Dont ask me what that format would be, I already didnt care for this tourney, so I dont care enough to think of alternatives)

Lastly, I dont know what broadcaster will want to waste so much broadcasting time on an Olympic golf tourney. Takes long to televise and takes away from other events too much which are traditionally the sports that produce the bigger stories.

Edited April 21, 2016 by cutchemist42

[Chilli Dipper]

Having the Open Championship, the PGA Championship, the Olympic tournament, and the tour playoffs all in rapid succession may not be a good idea moving forward. In future Olympic years, the PGA should be pushed forward to mid-May, which would balance out the schedule, and provide an opportunity for courses in the South and West to host a major. Harding Park is scheduled to host the PGA in 2020; changing the date of that tournament shouldn't have any adverse effects.

[Golfingdad]

2 hours ago, cutchemist42 said:

Lastly, I dont know what broadcaster will want to waste so much broadcasting time on an Olympic golf tourney. Takes long to televise and takes away from other events too much which are traditionally the sports that produce the bigger stories.

I don't know, perhaps The Golf Channel?? 

2 minutes ago, Chilli Dipper said:

Having the Open Championship, the PGA Championship, the Olympic tournament, and the tour playoffs all in rapid succession may not be a good idea moving forward. In future Olympic years, the PGA should be pushed forward to mid-May, which would balance out the schedule, and provide an opportunity for courses in the South and West to host a major. Harding Park is scheduled to host the PGA in 2020; changing the date of that tournament shouldn't have any adverse effects.

This makes sense.

[boogielicious]

15 hours ago, Chilli Dipper said:

Having the Open Championship, the PGA Championship, the Olympic tournament, and the tour playoffs all in rapid succession may not be a good idea moving forward. In future Olympic years, the PGA should be pushed forward to mid-May, which would balance out the schedule, and provide an opportunity for courses in the South and West to host a major. Harding Park is scheduled to host the PGA in 2020; changing the date of that tournament shouldn't have any adverse effects.

This is a bit OT, but whenever I read one of your posts, I hear it in a news anchor's voice! 

I agree with you on this. But I think it will be hard to shift the other tournaments.

[pumaAttack]

Or just make the Players Championship the 4th major on Olympic years!  

[cutchemist42]

17 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

I don't know, perhaps The Golf Channel?? 

This makes sense.

Sorry I live in Canada. Is Golf Channel an NBC channel? I know here in Canada CBC wont bother airing a golf tourney when there's other sports to air.

Even still, golf in the Olympics will share the same fate tennis does, its a token event that people dont really make a big deal of. Its not close to the pinnacle of the sport.

[nevets88]

Do the world’s top golfers have an obligation to play in the Olympics? [Golfweek]

[Golfingdad]

54 minutes ago, cutchemist42 said:

Sorry I live in Canada. Is Golf Channel an NBC channel?

No worries.  Yes, TGC is under the NBCUniversal umbrella.  They have been advertising heavily for the Olympics for awhile now, so I can only presume given those two factors that they'll be showing everything.  And I imagine they'll go whole hog with the "Live From.." guys and everything for the duration.

[Chilli Dipper]

1 hour ago, boogielicious said:

I agree with you on this. But I think it will be hard to shift the other tournaments.

Looking at this year's schedule as a template, here is how it could be done.

• Move the Players Championship forward two weeks, so that it takes place on the last weekend in April. Push New Orleans and Quail Hollow back one week.
• Slot the PGA Championship into the third weekend in May, currently occupied by the Byron Nelson.
• The Byron Nelson (or the Colonial) is rescheduled for the week prior to the U.S. Open. The St. Jude, which is usually held that week, takes place the week after the Open instead.
• The National, which is scheduled the week after the U.S. Open this season, is pushed back to the end of July, when the PGA Championship is scheduled in 2016.

That schedule would provide three-week gaps between the Masters, the Players, and the PGA, and four-week gaps between the PGA, U.S. Open, Open Championship, and Olympics (with invitation-only events at the mid-point of each). The only major conflict would be that the U.S. PGA and the BMW PGA Championship on the European Tour would then occur on consecutive weeks.

 

14 minutes ago, cutchemist42 said:

Even still, golf in the Olympics will share the same fate tennis does, its a token event that people dont really make a big deal of. Its not close to the pinnacle of the sport.

The Olympic tournament would set itself apart if it was focused on teams instead of individuals. I picture a competition of 16 four-player national teams, whose rosters are set at the discretion of each nation's golf federation:

• the host nation
• the top-ranked nation from each continent based on an OWGR-type country rankings system
• the next five top-ranked nations in those country rankings (with a maximum of three of those teams coming from the same continent)
• four nations that advance by winning a Pan-American, European, Asian, or African-Oceanic qualifying tournament

54 or 72 holes of stroke play, with a team's worst individual score dropped from their cumulative total for each round. Individual medalists will also be determined during the stroke play competition; in addition to those on the team rosters, individual exemptions will be granted to:

• any major champion of the current and previous years, if not selected to his/her national team or from a non-qualifying nation
• the most recent season champion or Order of Merit leader on the six major tours (PGA, Euro, Japan, Asia, Australia, Sunshine [substitute Korea for women])
• The top-ranked players in the OWGR/Rolex Rankings from non-qualifying nations (limit two per nation) until the total field reaches 80 players

This is essentially the format of the NCAA golf championships. The team champion at the NCAAs is decided by match play among the top eight teams in medal play; ideally, the team medalists at the Olympics would be determined in the same way, but the pros may object to playing seven competitive rounds in six days.

[krupa]

1 hour ago, nevets88 said:

Do the world’s top golfers have an obligation to play in the Olympics? [Golfweek]

I totally agree with the "no" viewpoint.  If I wasn't typing on my phone, if give an annoying, long diatribe about the Olympics. Lucky for everyone, I am.