Olympic Golf Strikes Surprise Gold

Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements

WHEN it was announced that golf was being included in the Olympic Games, my heart sank. It wasn't the inclusion of the sport that worried me; it was the fact that the world's top professionals would be taking part, not the leading amateurs.

 I felt the same way when they decided to include tennis. Golfers and tennis players get paid millions of pounds and already have four majors or grand slams in which they can compete. Win a golf major or a tennis grand slam and you are set up for life. But an Olympic gold medal? With no prize money? It would never work, it would never catch on.

Well, I am here to tell you that I was wrong.

When Andy Murray won his gold medal at London 2012 it was the victory that finally endeared him to the British sporting public. And it meant a huge amount to him. Murray was asked to carry the flag at the opening ceremony in Rio and said that it was the biggest single sporting honour that any athlete could ever experience. Murray is not only a world-class tennis player, but he is a proud Briton, and anybody who watched him battle his way through the men's singles competition will know that he gave it 100%. As he stood on the podium with the gold medal around his neck, the first man to successfully defend the Olympic tennis title, he fought back the tears.

Murray is used to staying in five-star hotels, but he elected to spend his time in the Olympic Village, mixing with the rest of the British team.

Justin Rose took this photo at the start of the week.

By the end of the week, they both had #gold medals. #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/BCMecnkYpm

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) August 15, 2016

And do you know what? The golfers did the same. Justin Rose, who was an enthusiastic advocate for golf at the Olympics, attended many events featuring British athletes and shared selfies with Murray and many other UK athletes. He lived the expereince and he loved the experience - and he wasn't alone.

When Usain Bolt won the men's 100m for the third time, the Olympic Stadium was half-empty. When Rose holed the winning putt, the crowd was up to 20-deep around the final green, and there wasn't a seat to be had in the grandstands. Every ticket was snapped up. When you consider that Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson and Jason Day were all absentees, it says a great deal for the appeal of the game.

It is worth noting that there were plenty of youngsters among the galleries, and it is believed that the global audience that watched the golf tournament around the world comprised more under-20s than any other age group. If only a fraction of them decide they want to give the game a try then golf will be in a very good place indeed.

And then there was the quality of the golf played by Rose and Henrik Stenson. For the second time this summer, Stenson was involved in a breathtaking duel in front of a huge television audience. The Swede is an extraordinary talent, a man with a rare ability to be able to dig deep and produce his very best golf when he needs it most. But on this occasion he lost to the better man.

Rose had a hole in one on the opening day, the first man to do so at the Olympics, When you consider how much he wanted to play in Rio, how badly he wanted to put on a show, then you have to consider that karma was at work here.

Make no mistake about it, winning an Olympic gold will lead to various bonuses from his sponsors, but Rose couldn't care less about that. Anybody who saw his reaction when he holed the final putt will know how much this meant to him.

And it seems that McIlroy may realise that he missed out on something special. Having withdrawn due to concern over the zika virus and then said he would be watching the swimming, diving, athletics, it emerged that he did tune in to the golf and was one of the first to send a message congratulating Rose. If the Englishman's deeds in Rio have encouraged even a small number of children to take up golf then he has done a good thing.

You can be certain that McIlroy, Day, Johnson and Spieth will be taking part in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, where there will be no zika-carrying mosquitoes. And speaking of mosquitoes, there are no reports of a single person in any sport having been bitten.

Roll on Tokyo!