Let it be known that this will be my last piece with any mention of the Olympics, golf in the Olympics, players in the Olympics, players not in the Olympics, the Olympic Flame, the Olympic Rings, Olympic Paint…anything Olympic…at least until we crown the Champion Golfer of the Year.
All this Olympic baloney is taking the focus away from the oldest and maybe the greatest major of them all. That being said I need to vent for a bit before I turn my focus to the Open and nothing but the Open.
First things first. A bunch of male players are not playing in Rio. Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy all headliners anywhere they tee it up are staying home as is their right. These guys were not raised dreaming of winning a golf medal. They play golf to win championships and make money. And for those that claim they should play to represent their country …they do every year in either the Ryder Cup or the Presidents Cup. In fact every time they tee it up they represent their country or at least the television crews make it seem that way as their names are accompanied by their flag on the leaderboard and there is always talk of their nationality.
It’s not like these guys train like many Olympic athletes who only get to showcase their talents every four years. They showcase their skills 50 weeks a year… all over the world.
Rory is taking heat for saying he didn’t start playing golf to grow the game. And he’s damn right, there isn’t a golfer alive…or dead for that matter, that started playing golf to grow the game.
Did Tom Morris tee it up at Prestwick in the first Open Championship to grow the game? Did Harry Vardon start out growing the game…Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus? You’re trying to tell me that Nicklaus graduated from Ohio State with the idea that he was going to grow the game? Heck no, Jack planned to remain an amateur as his idol Bob Jones did. But after realizing his talent allowed him to play golf for a living he played the game to earn his living.
So many like to point to Arnold Palmer and his decision to play in the Open Championship when American golfers choose to stay here and save the money it took to get across the pond. Heck, with the cost of traveling and the meager purses back then it cost them money to play there.
But when Arnie…the greatest ambassador of the game ever, choose to head over to play the Open it wasn’t to grow the game. It was to build his legacy and follow in the footsteps of Jones and Ben Hogan. He was 31 when he headed to the Open and won it the next two years in 1961 and ’62 but it wasn’t a move to grow the game. It was for Arnold Palmer.
Certainly later in their lives Palmer and Nicklaus tried to do all they could to give back to the game and became two of the biggest factors in the popularity of the game. But a younger Nicklaus and Palmer were trying to make a living at golf not grow a game. Heck that phrase “grow the game” was never even uttered back then.
So we applaud Rory for being honest and open and accommodating to the press for his forthright and genuine manner but then when he says what he feels because it’s not the “politically correct golf” axiom he gets skewered.
If Rory utters those “I am not here to grow the game” at 35 or 40 there’s a problem. Right now he is a 27 year old trying to build his legacy by winning majors. Just like Jack and Arnie.
I gained more respect for Rory today…but I lost some for Jordan Spieth.
He seemed to be trying so hard to be politically correct. He refused to say it was the Zika virus that caused him to bow out but said it was “health concerns.” What other health concern is there? I know the water where the boaters and outdoor swimmers are competing is a sewer but does he realize he’s a golfer and doesn’t have to swim? Just say it’s the damn Zika virus and be done with it.
Cheers to Brittany Lang and Anna Nordqvist for their performances at the U.S. Women’s Open. They both played great golf and both displayed plenty of class under an ugly situation.
Lang’s win shouldn’t be diminished by the USGA’s ruling that saw Nordqvist’s penalty be assessed at an inopportune time. Nordqvist didn’t bat an eye when the USGA hit her with the penalty …right after her third shot on eighteen. She displayed wonderful class and restraint afterwards when other could have ripped the USGA.
And Lang’s win got plenty of social media attention as USGA President Diana Murphy called her “Bethany” during the awards ceremony….multiple times. Really? This is the president of the USGA! Where was she for the last two hours of the tournament as Lang and Nordqvist were playing? Does she watch her own tournament? And she was as awkward as all get out at the ceremony for Dustin Johnson at Oakmont. Maybe she’s a great administrator at the USGA but awards ceremonies obviously aren’t her strong suit. What a bad season for the USGA.
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