After years of lobbying to reinstate golf as an Olympic sport for the first time since 1904, Olympic golf is a success. After many months that went into the design and construction of a course that was played just one time before the Games, and high-profile players pulling out due to concerns over a variety of issues connected to these 2016 Olympic Games, golf finally took center stage this past weekend. Even with all of the problems that arose throughout this weekend, this makeshift tournament was truly incredible. From the unbelievable 63 posted on day one by a mostly unheard of Australian, to Matt Kuchar’s Sunday charge into medal position, viewers were thoroughly entertained. While there will naturally be nitpicking, most of the pre-tournament gripes were answered. The course, criticized as too short and too easy due to its lack of rough, provided a serious challenge while rewarding great play, setting up exciting scoring chances that made for a great Sunday. The field, which was knocked as weak after many of the world’s top players dropped out of the Games, was incredibly diverse and entertaining, from the household names that stuck out on Sunday, such as Kuchar, Rose, and Stenson, to the international characters that captured everyone’s attention, such as the young Irishman Seamus Power and the portly Kiradech Aphibarnrat from Thailand.
However, this tournament did have some legitimate problems. In the Olympic setting, being away from true golf patrons, there was a countless number of incidents in which a caddy or marshal openly snapped at the gallery to put down their cell phones, a command that is rarely ever issued to golf loyalists at any other big tournament. Although this was certainly an inconvenience for the players, Sunday’s drama and incredible scoring on a world stage is likely to grow the game and introduce new players to the sport. Another justifiable Olympic grievance was the lack of a rebroadcast by NBC, who produced and, in conjunction with their Golf Channel affiliate, broadcasted all four days of competition. While it was nice to be able to watch the final round live and without the interminable tape delay that plagues many other Olympic events, the first two rounds on Thursday and Friday, were only broadcast live, thus preventing viewers who work all day from watching an entire round. In four years in Tokyo, NBC, or at least the Golf Channel, needs to look into an early evening rebroadcast in order to reach and captivate a larger audience.
At the end of the day, this was a great event. There was an incredible amount of skepticism over not just the readiness of golf as a sport to be in the Olympics, but the ability of Rio de Janiero to host such an event. Any doubts were absolutely and categorically blown away. Viewers saw not just another weekend golf tournament, but an exhibition of pure and unbridled patriotism manifested in the highest level of golf competition. It was effervescent in the way Matt Kuchar’s voice swelled with national pride in his post-round interview when it finally hit him that he would bring back a medal to his home country. Justin Rose’s celebration after his gold medal-clinching putt was enough to send chills through the spine of any sports fan. For four days this weekend, viewers forgot about all of the problems of the Rio Olympics, including the ones that plagued golf. 60 guys from countries all across the globe came together to chase around a little white ball for a while, captivating an international audience at the same time, and preserving the future of Olympic golf as a mainstay in future games, at least for the foreseeable future.
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