Why does Olympic not play golf with teammates?

The Olympics are the biggest sports competitions between nations. But golf on this playground is not in the form of international teamwork, such as the Ryder Cup events, the Presidents Cup of men or the Women’s Solheim Cup.

“The International Olympic Committee (IOC) chose a popular format instead of a novel but impractical approach. The Olympics bring together top golfers from many countries. And stroke play itself, in most cases, has. determines who is the prestigious major champion, “explained Peter Dawson, Chairman of IGF on the website” Insidethegames “- which specializes in international sports games.

“They also don’t want to add customary team content,” Dawson added from the IOC.

According to the current plan for golf in Tokyo 2021, the female content starts from July 29 and the men’s branch will fight from August 4. It is also experimental at the Summer Olympics. The IOC has not determined its future after 2024 in Paris.

In addition to the indifferent view from the IOC, another major obstacle to team golf at the Olympic Games is that the governing body has not yet found a way to resolve the conflict between the Olympics and the season schedule of the major arenas. USA – PGA, LPGA Tour, and Europe – European Tour for men and women.

Assuming IGF is approved by the IOC “team project” similar to swimming, athletics and gymnastics “, they are unlikely to get the backing of those professional systems.

“Tours can only be suspended for a week for the Olympics so we are not eligible to campaign for more team content,” the veteran leader of IGF added.

Given the current predicament, Dawson remains optimistic about the possibility of reconsidering a proposal that was rejected in the early 2010s – taking the member players’ records to determine the team medal. “The simple way is to combine individual achievements. This style has been used in many Canadian Cups, the World Golf Championships so it should not be strange. I believe the host organizations will discuss more about this issue,” Dawson state personal opinion.

By the end of 2020, Dawson ends his 10 years at the top of IGF. He “stands at the head” in the campaign to bring golf back to Rio 2016 in Brazil after 112 years of absence at the Summer Olympics. The IGF Chairperson will be assumed by Swedish player Annika Sorenstam from 1 January 2021.

The IGF leadership team currently has two members from the PGA Tour including special envoy Jay Monahan and Global Marketing Director Ty Votaw. At IGF, Monahan is the CEO, and Votaw is Sorenstam’s deputy.

Quoc Huy