Olympics Joy
Every four years, we witness the greatest sportsmen and sportswomen gather in one city to fight for gold, silver or bronze
This year at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, golfers from all over the world were taking part in this sporting extravaganza after a lapse of 112 years! It was great to watch the Asian Tour members in action. Even though our players did not win a medal, I’m still very proud with how some of them fought to represent their country in the Olympics.
Like all Olympics there were many remarkable moments, which will be remembered. For me, I was overwhelmed to see that Siddikur Rahman was given the honour of carrying the Bangladesh flag in the opening ceremony. While watching, I was flooded with memories of how Siddikur rose through the ranks on the Asian Tour, thanks largely to his maiden victory at the Brunei Open in 2010. His accomplishments since then have been well covered extensively by the media and all of us on the Asian Tour couldn’t help but feel happy for Siddikur.
Then there was Adilson Da Silva of Brazil, who is a regular on the Asian Tour. The local man was given the privilege of striking the opening tee-shot in the Olympic golf competition and it was indeed a proud moment for Da Silva and everybody in his country.
During the week, Marcus Fraser, our current Asian Tour Order of Merit leader, flew the Australian flag high and led the tournament after the opening two rounds. He eventually finished tied fifth alongside Thai star Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who also performed admirably in Rio.
Big congratulations to Justin Rose for winning the gold medal for Great Britain. Hopefully in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, we will see an Asian donning the gold medal proudly around his neck.
Even though Fraser did not have a podium finish, he will still have a lot to play for in the business end of the Asian Tour season. He has a chance to win the Order of Merit for the first time in his career and there are many opportunities for him to gain an edge over the contenders.
The Asian Tour will return to Japan for the Asia Pacific Open Mitsubishi Diamond Cup, which is co-sanctioned with the Japan Golf Tour. Our players love going to Japan and it will be another thrilling tournament. The Japanese love their golf and we always expect huge crowds during the tournament days. I can only imagine how packed the golf course will be when Tokyo hosts the Olympic Golf in 2020.
Until then, let’s sit back and enjoy all the Asian Tour events coming your way.