• Home
  • About me: Jim Fitzpatrick
  • Contact

JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« Elect me and I will kill “The Press”!
As this Olympian-sized lie has demonstrated, Americans often take with them “an attitude of arrogance and entitlement” wherever they go »

Olympic golf competition rises to the top, even with some of the world’s top pros taking a pass

August 14, 2016 by jimmycsays

You remember the movie Caddyshack, in which the pesky gopher continually thwarted groundskeeper Carl Spackler (Bill Murray) and wreaked havoc on the country club course.

Well, a couple of months ago, it appeared that golf, as a sport returning to the Olympic Games after a 112-year absence, was going to be similarly torn asunder after one top professional after another backed out, claiming fear of the Zika virus.

The list of defectors included world’s No. 1 ranked Jason Day of Australia; U.S. major champions Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson; and former world’s No. 1 player Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland.

One website I happened onto today, called The Wrap, said back in July, “You can officially add Olympic golf to the list of Rio disasters.”

Three weeks prior to the Olympics, the chief organizer of the Rio Games, Carlos Nuzman, put his finger on the real reason that some of golf’s biggest stars had bowed out. “They tried to blame Zika, but the media have shown that they are not coming because there’s no prize money,” Nuzman said.

Then, an amazing thing happened: Other top world players, including America’s Bubba Watson, Matt Kuchar, Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler, moved to the fore and began saying how badly they wanted to play and how great an honor it would be to represent their countries on the world stage.

On Thursday, 60 players from 40 nations began playing the first of four rounds. Only three of those players would get any official recognition — the top three medal winners. No money was at stake; it was all for country, pride and prestige.

And what a finish!

This afternoon (Rio is two hours ahead of Kansas City), Sweden’s Henrik Stenson (No. 5 in the world) and Great Britain’s Justin Rose (No. 12) were tied at 15 under par as they stood on the tee at the par-five 18th hole. If one of them beat the other on that hole, he would be the gold medal winner; if they tied that hole, they would immediately begin a sudden-death playoff.

I love both those golfers — tremendous professionals and great sporting personalities — and would have been happy with either one. As it turned out, Rose made an incredible short-range pitch shot — his third on the hole — that came to rest two feet from the cup. The crowd roared. Minutes earlier, Stenson’s pitch, from farther away, landed about 20 to 25 feet from the cup.

justin

Justin Rose, winning Olympic gold

After Stenson three-putted — ramming his first putt several feet past — Rose claimed the victory by cooly tapping in his two-footer. As the putt dropped into the cup, Rose pumped his fist in the air and tugged at the British crest on his shirt, emphasizing the win was just as much for his country as for him. He later said:

“The reality is incredible. The reality hasn’t sunk in. The whole week, I’ve been so focused. I’ve been so into it. I’ve been up for it. I’ve been just so determined, I suppose, to represent Team GB as best as I could. And it was just the most magical week.”

And so, an event that had taken on dismal overtones just a couple of months go surged to the top Olympic tier, along with swimming, gymnastics and women’s beach volleyball.

And those guys who turned their backs on the Olympics — especially Spieth, Day, McIlroy and Johnson? I won’t be pulling for them nearly as much as I used to. I’ll be rooting for any of the 60 men who spent the week in Rio and played for the love of the game, love of country and to be part of golf’s historic return to the Olympics since the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis.

And now this week, starting Wednesday, the world’s top women take to the course. I invite you to join me in watching at least part of it. I think it, too, is going to be a great show.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in Uncategorized | 14 Comments

14 Responses

  1. on August 14, 2016 at 8:05 pm Authorized User

    Didn’t know there was anyone under the age of 75 years that plays golf.


    • on August 14, 2016 at 8:10 pm jimmycsays

      What a comment…


      • on August 15, 2016 at 4:50 am Will Notb

        Over the decades it’s been my experience that those who dismiss golf have either not indulged in the sport or once poorly did so.


  2. on August 15, 2016 at 7:47 am jimmycsays

    Something tells me Authorized User falls into one of those categories.


    • on August 15, 2016 at 8:26 am Will Notb

      Thanks: Until you blue penciled my comment it was neither fish nor fowl…


      • on August 15, 2016 at 10:05 am jimmycsays

        You really threw me with the “neither”/ “or”…


  3. on August 15, 2016 at 10:14 am John Altevogt

    Screw both of you. I don’t like golf and I can throw the club as far as I can hit the ball. So much for your theories.


    • on August 15, 2016 at 11:08 am jimmycsays

      Even a discussion of golf makes some people mad…


      • on August 15, 2016 at 11:23 am John Altevogt

        ;-)


      • on August 15, 2016 at 11:38 am Will Notb

        Though he was honest enough to admit playing poorly; kudos.


  4. on August 15, 2016 at 11:24 am John Altevogt

    Currently holding my breath and stomping my feet.


  5. on August 15, 2016 at 12:20 pm jimmycsays

    I’ve got Oct. 1 circled on the calendar as my hoped-for return date to golf. I’m looking forward to that almost as much as I was to the knee-replacement surgery.


    • on August 15, 2016 at 12:58 pm Will Notb

      if the current pattern holds it should be perfect weather for your return. Make sure you push your daily walks out to three miles so you’ll be ready.


      • on August 15, 2016 at 7:14 pm John Altevogt

        Perhaps buy a four wheel drive golf cart.



Comments are closed.

  • Pages

    • About me: Jim Fitzpatrick
    • Contact
  • Archives

    • February 2023
    • January 2023
    • December 2022
    • November 2022
    • October 2022
    • September 2022
    • August 2022
    • July 2022
    • June 2022
    • May 2022
    • April 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
    • August 2021
    • July 2021
    • June 2021
    • May 2021
    • April 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
    • December 2012
    • November 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
    • December 2010
    • November 2010
    • October 2010
    • September 2010
    • August 2010
    • July 2010
    • June 2010
    • May 2010
    • April 2010
    • March 2010
  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 563 other subscribers

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


  • Follow Following
    • JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC
    • Join 563 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: