ROBBIE GREENFIELD
his was supposed to be the year golf made a triumphant return to the Olympic Games and an exciting rivalry between its three best players finally brought an end to the game’s mournful wallowing in the decline of Tiger Woods.
Suffice to say, it has not gone to plan so far. Last month, I suggested that golf was in danger of shooting itself in the foot over an Olympic return that has been blighted by apathy among players and an unimaginative approach to the format. Since then, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day have withdrawn, citing fears over the Zika virus, and Jordan Spieth has wondered out loud whether golf will stay in the Olympics beyond its initial 2020 agreement.
I get why McIlroy and Day withdrew over Zika. Both of them have always placed family above all else, and McIlroy in particular cannot be accused of shirking the Olympic question, having initially made the difficult decision to represent Ireland over Great Britain. The virus has put the entire Games on red alert, but so far, top golfers have been by far the biggest contingent to publicly withdraw. Cyclist Tejay van Garderen has opted out on Zika grounds, and basketball star Stephen Curry spoke of ‘other factors’ when he made his absence known.
For now, most athletes taking part in the Olympics are monitoring the situation closely before making a final decision. It is impossible to escape the sense that for golfers, the virus presents a criticismproof opt- out card. Maybe that’s a cynical interpretation, but why haven’t we seen more international stars from other sports go the way of Adam Scott, McIlroy and Day?
There is still time for golf to avert disaster when it comes to the Olympics, but the same cannot be said for either Muirfield Golf Club or the USGA. The former voted to maintain its policy of not admitting female members, while the latter was responsible for the outrageous rules farce that cast an appalling shadow over Dustin Johnson’s long overdue maiden major championship victory at Oakmont.
Neither Muirfield’s awful obstinacy or the USGA’s pedantic ruling-by- committee have any place in today’s modern game, and the fact is, both of these less than savoury examples of golf’s present will sooner or later be ushered out by a younger, more progressive attitude. But until that happens, golf remains open to international ridicule, stuck in some bygone age where some of its most influential custodians are the wrong side of 70 and as resistant to change as a lump of granite.
Muirfield is a private club and can make its own rules, but as an Open Championship venue, did golf really need that publicity? As for the USGA, we can only hope the backlash over Sunday at Oakmont will lead to a much needed review of some of golf’s sillier rules, and how they are administered.