The Olympics

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Tee Times RD 3
7:30 a.m. -- Shingo Katayama, Julien Quesne, Wen-Tang Lin

7:41 a.m. -- Miguel Luis Tabuena, Jhonattan Vegas, Espen Kofstad

7:52 a.m. -- Brandon Stone, Anirban Lahiri, Roope Kakko

8:03 a.m. -- Thongchai Jaidee, Rickie Fowler, Gavin Green

8:14 a.m. -- Jaco Van Zyl, Wu Ashun, Siddikur Rahman

8:25 a.m. -- Hao Tong Li, Fabrizio Zanotti, Nino Bertasio

8:41 a.m. -- Ryan Fox, Adilson da Silva, Danny Chia

8:52 a.m. -- David Hearn, Yuta Ikeda, Scott Hend

9:03 a.m. -- Jeunghun Wang, Felipe Aguilar, Rodolfo Cazaubon

9:14 a.m. -- Joost Luiten, S.S.P. Chawrasia, Matteo Manassero

9:25 a.m. -- Danny Willett, Martin Kaymer, Mikko Ilonen

9:36 a.m. -- Padraig Harrington, Soren Kjeldsen, Bernd Wiesberger

9:47 a.m. -- Ricardo Gouveia, Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed

10:03 a.m. -- Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Jose-Filipe Lima, Bubba Watson

10:14 a.m. -- David Lingmerth, Matt Kuchar, Byeong Hun An

10:25 a.m. -- Seamus Power, Emiliano Grillo, Nicolas Colsaerts

10:36 a.m. -- Cheng Tsung Pan, Thorbjorn Olesen, Alex Cejka

10:47 a.m. -- Graham DeLaet, Danny Lee, Fabian Gomez

10:58 a.m. -- Gregory Bourdy, Justin Rose, Rafa Cabrera Bello

11:09 a.m. -- Marcus Fraser, Thomas Pieters, Henrik Stenson

robopz wrote:

sirbenson wrote:I am a fan of Golf in the Olympics to answer my own question! It can only help grow the game and I'd imagine some players not all will start to regret their decision to miss out!

I agree. While I don't think the players fears were totally unfounded, IMO they were greatly overblown (or at least I hope that proves to be the case once its all said and done).

Instances of Zika contracted in Floridia [sic] - have all the multi millionaire golfists moved away or confirmed they will not play there again?

Getting pretty pumped for this. Can't wait.

McLaren wrote:Getting pretty pumped for this.  Can't wait.  

Zika?

Watching Pea Brain.

http://www.igfgolf.org/olympic-games/scores/

This seems to be running well and quite quickly

Course looks pretty good. Quite nice use of ground movement and width compared to the dirge will usually get on the PGAT.

Pieters just drove the third! Hell of a talent

Ben An playing for a military exemption....

I agree Mac. Course looks wonderful.

And barely any rough! Just shows!

It's a shame that the Olympics didn't take the opportunity to let the players wear shorts given than no one like the PGA can stick their beaks in here.


Rotten, dry, humourless commentary too.

Agree about the commentary - it's ghastly! Who on earth are they?

And I must have missed something - why have the USA got 3 players and every other country seems to have 2?

They gerrymandered the rules LP because they think they are something special because of the number of players they have in the top XX, they think this means they can take the places of other countries. Hopefully they stink the house out, and as Schit Shoes has just 4 putted, it looks like this might happen.

They've got 4
Waston, Reed, Fowler and Kuchar

MustPuttBetter wrote:They've got 4
Waston, Reed, Fowler and Kuchar

I forgot Reed! Just as well it isn't the team competition Kuchar thought he was playing in Why do the USA think they are so special?????

LadyPutt wrote:Why do the USA think they are so special?????

We did have 6 players in the OWGR Top 15 at the time of the Qualification. If any other country had 4 players that good, they would have got 4 players in the competition.

And FTR, the Qualification system is very similar to Tennis's qualification system

South Korea has 4 women in the Women's event next week.

Apparently Colsaerts great grandfather was in the 1920's Olympics, in Water Polo
https://www.instagram.com/p/BIvHp0ehTXY/

LadyPutt --- It's a conspiracy!!!

Weren't both Ben An's parents Olympians?

kwinigolfer wrote:Weren't both Ben An's parents Olympians?

Not only Olympians, but Medalists as well.

That's why Ben An was in the opening grouping. with de Silva and Delaet.

Surprisingly decent crowds... I was expecting a Czech Open kind of gallery... but this clearly exceeds that. And they're talking a potential sell out Sunday? I dunno about that... but we'll see.

Oh yeah... and while I'm generally a rah-rah USA guy... wouldn't bother me in the least to see 3 medalists and lots of players in contention from elsewhere. IMO the greatest potential for golf in the Olympics is growing the game elsewhere... but since most the rest of the world resents the USA... us winning or dominating probably isn't the best for that objective.

That said... if Bubba and Rickie would like to get their heads outta there no playing asses here pretty soon... that would be fine with me too...

Big surprise on the leaderboard for moi is DeLaet; took a few weeks off the Tour due to chipping yips, had a horrible shankappotomous in Canada, yet here he is in second.
Sounds as if there'll be format changes in store for 2020 . . . . and 2024 if it gets that far.

Fiji's #1 leading the US Senior Open.

Love the Team GB shirts! I wonder if they'll be available for sale at some point?

On the Team GB website there are two golf polo shirts for sale although from the pictures I've seen on the BBC website I don't think they exactly match the one being worn today.

Link to TeamGB golf collection

Mrs Grumps has just ordered me the white one and one of the tennis tee shirts too

Edit: having watched Rose's hole in one on the 4th the shirt seems to be the reverse of the blue one on sale in the TeamGB shop

Robo - they mentioned on GolfChannel coverage last night that the tee times were set to try and ensure prime viewing coverage for the smaller nations. If that helps boost participation in those countries then that will be the best thing that comes out of this event

Joost Luiten just got a face full of sand. If I was pro, I would have a pair of goggles in my golf bag to wear when playing an explosion shot into the wind

I've had that happen to me twice recently. The second time I was a little more prepared for it but with sunblock on I just got pebble dashed.

Yes the team GB kits, for golf and all other sports, do look very smart. In 2012 GB had the coolest kits, Stella did a good job again.

It has occurred to me that this might have been a big factor in determining the golf team. Justin Rose is always dripping in adidas so they would have been keen for him to play, whereas I imagine Nike would have been horrified at the thought of images of Rory covered in adidas logos all over the global media.

Fair enough the US can have more players than Belgium or Denmark.

1GrumpyGolfer wrote:Robo - they mentioned on GolfChannel coverage last night that the tee times were set to try and ensure prime viewing coverage for the smaller nations.  If that helps boost participation in those countries then that will be the best thing that comes out of this event

I didn't hear that, but great if they did.  Sure looks like the late starters got the worst of it though... Really good rounds from Stenson & Rose playing late in that wind... Not to take anything away from Fraser's great start of course.

ray,
That's a very good point . . . . ! I wonder how much that was an influence with guys like Day, Dustin and Spieth staying at home?

If a player like Rory happened to win the Gold Medal, its value to Nike would outweigh the value of him wearing New Balance sponsored Team Ireland clothing.

Ryder Cup and Prez Cup players generally don't have a problem wearing generic uniforms. (exception: Mountain Sun Rainsuits)

super_realist wrote:They gerrymandered the rules LP because they think they are something special because of the number of players they have in the top XX,  they think this means they can take the places of other countries....

Oh stop it... you're killing me...

kwinigolfer wrote:ray,
That's a very good point . . . . ! I wonder how much that was an influence with guys like Day, Dustin and Spieth staying at home?

I doubt it was much, if any at all for any of them... especially for Spieth. He had two BIG sponsors in Coca-Cola and AT&T that are huge blanket sponsors of the Olympics... they'd have loved for him to play I'd think.

raycastleunited wrote:whereas I imagine Nike would have been horrified at the thought of images of Rory covered in adidas logos all over the global media.

I thought Nike turned down the chance to sponsor the Irish golf kit?

Perhaps Vijay didn't go because he wanted to win Fiji's first ever Gold and he looked at the schedule and realised he wouldn't make it . . . . .
Dominating 7's performance.

Kwini

Just watched the sevens final. GB got totally humped.

Sevens way more watchable than the awful 15 a side version of the game.

pedro wrote:Fair enough the US can have more players than Belgium or Denmark.

How is it fair? Are there any other sports in the Olympics where how many of a country can "qualify" like this? Do Jamaica get "extra" guys because they dominate sprinting? Do GB get more cyclists in the velodrome because lots of their guys are ranked higher, than say USA? No.

This is just another example of how golf doesn't belong in this event. What's wrong with EVERY team who can put players forward having the same number of entrants?

I'd be embarrassed to be one of the American or Korean players.

Could Olympic golf use gymnastics as an example of how to do it. Have a single event and then a team event, but make the team event mixed. Have a mixed event following a Ryder cup style format of mixed 2 balls etc and single sex singles.

Making it mixed means the Olympic event has something unique that you don't get on any of the major men's or women's tours.

Sounds a bit too complicated Mac.

Not really sure why you'd want a mixed event.

super_realist wrote:

pedro wrote:Fair enough the US can have more players than Belgium or Denmark.

How is it fair? Are there any other sports in the Olympics where how many of a country can "qualify" like this? Do Jamaica get "extra" guys because they dominate sprinting? Do GB get more cyclists in the velodrome because lots of their guys are ranked higher, than say USA? No.

This is just another example of how golf doesn't belong in this event. What's wrong with EVERY team who can put players forward having the same number of entrants?

I'd be embarrassed to be one of the American or Korean players.

Didn't think you were a traditionalist or an advocate of how things have always been. You argumentation seems anachronistic and not based on reality. Are you by chance Liverpool fan?

In an event where you are there to represent your country (allegedly) no team ought to be shown favour, it seems ridiculous that one team get more competitors than another.

If say 40 countries can put forward 2 players each, doesn't seem fair that one of those countries can field 4, simply because of where they rank.

I'd rather see it something like a qualifying criteria of being in the top 200 ranking, and you get two players from each country which has that, if a country only has one, they only get one representative.

Spain for example, have loads of players in the top 50 in mens tennis. Do they get special treatment and extra players in the competition because of this? No, they get, rightly, the same number as any other country.

No, I'm not a Liverpool supporter, they are perhaps my least favourite team.

Did Jhonny Vegas just cross himself on the first tee? What a pap.

super_realist wrote:Did Jhonny Vegas just cross himself on the first tee? What a pap.

Too keep zika away

1GrumpyGolfer wrote:having watched Rose's hole in one on the 4th the shirt seems to be the reverse of the blue one on sale in the TeamGB shop

Have you tried turning it round?

GPB wrote:If a player like Rory happened to win the Gold Medal, its value to Nike would outweigh the value of him wearing New Balance sponsored Team Ireland clothing.

Ryder Cup and Prez Cup players generally don't have a problem wearing generic uniforms.  (exception: Mountain Sun Rainsuits)

The Ryder Cup gear specifically doesn't have prominent logos so it doesn't upset Nike, Adidas etc.

The value of Rory wearing a competing brand is a moot point, but I think it's very important to the sportswear companies. The most famous example is Johan Cruyff who was sponsored by Puma and wore a special Dutch shirt in the 70s that had 2 stripes instead of 3 to avoid publicising Adidas. He even did this in the World Cup.

I actually think the pressure on Rory to choose Ireland instead of GB was a significant factor in convincing him to pull out. I reckon he would have rather represented GB like other N Ireland athletes.

In fairness Ray, Rory was in an impossible situation. Whomever he played for or whether he played or not someone's nose would be out of joint. People in NI are building an identity thats not the stereo typical old divisions but a shared identity thats inclusive, primarily Northern Irish. I genuinely believe Rory is very conscious of that. The least we in Ireland, England Scotland and Wales can do is support those people, they deserve it.

Hope Solo showing her true colours, complaining about the Swedes who beat them on penalties, called 'em cowards.
What an idiot, only footie keeping her out of jail.

super_realist wrote:Spain for example, have loads of players in the top 50 in mens tennis. Do they get special treatment and extra players in the competition because of this? No, they get, rightly, the same number as any other country

If Spain had 4 players in the Top 15 in Tennis, they would have got 4 players.

Olympic Golf Qualification mirrors Tennis' qualification pretty closely.

I've found the best leaderboard to follow Olympics is the IGF leaderboard... it has all the hole by hole, shot tracker.. key stats etc... Obviously being run by the PGA Tour (but in a frame) as it's the exact same format

http://www.igfgolf.org/olympic-games/scores/

And what's with Hope Solo... gee thanks Hope... like we don't already get enough "ugly American" bullshiet and you pull this crap... sheesh...

kwinigolfer wrote:Hope Solo showing her true colours, complaining about the Swedes who beat them on penalties, called 'em cowards.
What an idiot, only footie keeping her out of jail.

What a lamentable thing to say. I don't know if a team can take some sort of "disrepute" action, but she shouldn't get away with demeaning and unsporting comments about the opposition.
I'm all for people being less predictable in interviews, but denigrating the opposition when they beat you fair and square is shameful and arrogant.
What a bad loser and she just seems another idiot who instead of working on her endorsements on tv adverts should be working on her game.
If Sweden beat them on penalties, her as a keeper should have done her homework a bit better. She's only got herself to blame. Good riddance. Perhaps she should look up what the Olympics is about.