GB boss targets gold lining amid Rio gloom
Ask Jamie spence, captain of Team GB’s Olympic golf team, what he makes of all the negative headlines recently regarding Rio this summer and he mixes sympathy with a considerable dollop of annoyance.
Naturally, he understands the concerns as, like everyone else, the players try to assess the threat of the Zika virus. Just don’t get him started on the other topic that has caused plenty of adverse publicity, and those who have turned down the chance to play because they can’t fit another week’s golf into their schedules.
spence (right) said: ‘scheduling difficulties? seriously? How many events do they play each year, is it 23 or 24? And how many weeks are there in each year? I don’t get it. How many chances do you get to play for your country? I haven’t spoken to Gary Player, the south Africa captain, about Louis Oosthuizen and Charl schwartzel declaring themselves unavailable but I’d imagine he is fuming.’
Thankfully, spence has players only too willing, although Masters champion Danny Willett expressed concerns about the virus last week, with its link to babies born with deformities.
‘In the case of players like Danny, I have every sympathy,’ said spence. ‘He’s a young man, he and his wife have just had their first child and they might want more over the next few years. I get that. But I don’t think any of the top players will pull out now unless Zika escalates.’
On the day we met, an open letter from more than 100 leading scientists recommended the Games be either moved or postponed. ‘It’s not what you want to read but the airlines are still flying there and thousands of people are going in and out of Rio every day,’ he said. ‘If they’re saying shut down Brazil, that’s a different matter. But as long as governments are saying go, we should go.’
What does he make of the sport’s continued ambivalence towards its Olympic revival? ‘It does irritate me,’ he admitted. ‘some big names who contributed a lot to golf like Tiger Woods and Peter Dawson (former chief executive of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club) fought for its inclusion and we should get behind it. ‘Anything that takes the game away from America and around the world is the right way to go for me. And while Brazil is not a big golf country, can you imagine what it will be like in Tokyo next time? Are we saying a golf-obsessed country like Japan doesn’t deserve to host a golf tournament when it has the Games?’ Britain’s team will be announced on the eve of The Open in July. Even allowing for Chris Wood’s momentous victory at Wentworth on sunday, it would still take a considerable turn of events for Willett and Justin Rose not to be representing the men, while Charley Hull and Catriona Matthew are likely to be the two female representatives.
‘They’ve played so consistently well it’s going to be hard to remove them, and I think they are all excellent medal prospects,’ said spence. ‘I’d be really disappointed if we didn’t go home without at least one of them collecting a medal. That would certainly make it all feel worth it.’