Saturday, August 15, 2009

Fore and Against

Amrit already mentioned it, but I feel like I have to chime in as well. The inclusion of golf into the Olympics is simply regrettable. If the Olympics are supposed to be the pinnacle of athletic achievement for anybody in their given sport, then golf should not be included. If Tiger Woods wins, will anyone care? Will people fundamentally alter their viewing of him? If he does not win, will his career not be full? Will any of them really be representing their countries? The proposed format, a simple 72 hole tournament with a field of 60, is not even interesting. If it were organized by country, whereby each country has a team of 4 and they do something this way, it would be much more interesting.

Let's say Tiger Woods, Phil Mickleson, Anthony Kim and Stewart Cink are teamed up for the USA in the gold medal match against a British team led by Rory McIlroy, or a Spanish team led by Sergio, especially if the 2016 Games are in Madrid. Make me want to look forward to the Olympic golf tournament like I look forward to the Olympic basketball or hockey tournament. I can only see Lebron and Kobe teaming up with Chris Paul at the Olympics, or Sidney Crosby setting up John Tavares at the Olympics. I can see Tiger and Phil dueling at any tournament, but teaming them up against every country in the world would be something special. Watching Padraig Harrington or Ernie Els or Ryo Ishikawa or Jeev Mikah Singh try to will their respective countries across the finish line would be a site to behold.

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