Tiger could win Open in 2016...and still miss out on Olympics
How’s this for a lamentable state of affairs? Picture Tiger woods, from the depths of his current world ranking of 172nd, beginning the long march back with a good finish at the Memorial tournament in ohio this week.
so it continues, step by agonising step as he inches back inside the top 20, until he captivates the entire sporting world with a victory at The open at Royal Troon next year for his 15th major championship.
A fortnight later, another blistering finish at the UsPGA leaves woods looking up at only Rory McIlroy at the top of the rankings as the sport re-enters the olympics.
Too good to be true as the build-up to the race for a gold medal? You can say that again. But not because of the reason you might think — that Tiger’s not up to it anymore.
It cannot happen because the qualifying period for golfers to represent their country in Rio in August next year just happens to conclude on the sunday before the 2016 open begins.
No, it’s not you. I had to read this several times as well to make sure I had got it right. You mean to tell me that Tiger could win The open next year and the Us PGA but if he was ranked outside the world’s top 15 before both events were staged he would not be in Rio? Yep, that’s the strength of it. How stupid would golf look in those circumstances?
There is every chance it will look foolish in any case. Let’s fast forward just over a year and imagine the current world rankings are in place as we head to Troon. Under the qualification rules, players as good as Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Phil Mickelson, Lee westwood and Jamie Donaldson could win the 2016 open and still would not represent their respective countries. Imagine a young gun like Danny willett or Tommy Fleetwood, now inside the world’s top 50, making the major breakthrough and then being denied an olympic place?
who came up with this ridiculous piece of nonsense — a tennis fan, under the impression only six players can win Grand slams?
The open is the golf title that resonates above all others in terms of its worldwide impact. The idea that its champion, and not a freak winner either but one with real pedigree, could be denied a spot in Rio defines inequity.
No one I approached at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club was keen to comment and to be fair, having lobbied so hard for golf’s inclusion in the olympics, what could they say?
But they must be deeply disappointed that the qualifying period cannot end a week later. As if golf’s inclusion was not controversial enough, we now have this real danger to the credibility of its gold medal award, and for what? An extra week to measure up uniforms and carry out paperwork?