Mens Olympic Golf: Day One Recap And Links

From the Rio perspective I’m not sure the opening day of Olympic golf could have gone much better. It was fitting that the opening tee shot was watched mostly by some passionate fans and the dignitaries who ushered golf into the Games. These are people who have dealt for years with no shortage of naysaying, general whining, petty bickering and some deserved criticism.

It was also impressive to see just about every significant leader from the five families on hand, as well as those who may be retired but who contributed to the golf-in-the-Games push like former European Tour Chief George O’Grady. (I detailed the scene and some of the names for GolfDigest.com here.)

Anyone with a sense of the many meetings, conversations and politicking undertaken by these folks had to  congratulate all involved for getting us to a very special morning. Furthermore, as players continue to offer their praise for the Games experience, these leaders can proudly say they created something that has evolved  into a life-changing few weeks for 120 golfers and their assorted families and countries.

Even more heartening was how quickly the course filled up with over 6,000 energetic, eager and curious spectators who were greeted by live music, interactive hitting bays and putting greens, and the chance to take a photo under the Olympic rings. Considering how difficult Rio is to traverse, the attendance was admirable and merely getting all of the volunteers in place was a minor miracle (a few told me some wise soul made a Wednesday night call to employ Uber to ensure early attendance at a tough venue to reach).

From Adilson da Silva’s perfect opening tee shot, to the sight of original Olympic advocates Padraig Harrington and Matteo Manassero in group two, the kickoff was a dream mix of capturing Olympic spirit and getting the business of sport underway. Afterwords, the emotions of a special day in his golf career came pouring out, writes Alistair Tait for Golfweek.

As for the competition, the surprising on-site energy apparently didn’t quite translate to television based on the reactions I heard. From the press center, the television images I saw were very crisp while the golf course showed the world that nature-based design can look and play well on a grand stage. However, the combination of a nine-hour telecast with only sixty players on day one of Olympic Broadcasting’s first foray into golf was no doubt imperfect, though most of you who wrote said it was not the telecast you took issue with. Instead, it was the stroke play format when set against the other Olympic competitions you’re watching.

(Brief interlude here for those who think this week’s PGA Tour event carries as much significance as the Olympic competition, short of Zach Johnson tackling Steve Stricker as he’s about to tap in for the win and doing it in the name of promoting the pro wrestling career he's always dreamed of starting, no one in 2 years, 5 years or 10 years will remember who won the 2016 John Deere Classic.)

I know we said we’d grin and bear two weeks in Rio without format talk until after the Games, but having just returned from watching the fast-paced, tidy badminton pool play and hearing your comments that stroke play fell flat on television, we mustn’t let even the most magnificent Sunday result distract from the idea that golf can sustain a long and fun Olympic run with a revised format in 2020. 

For now though, outside of the non-Kuchar Americans struggling (who I wrote about for Golf Digest), the magnificent play in tough winds Thursday should be the focus.

Here goes...

Steve DiMeglio of USA Today on the opening day fun and surprises. Doug Ferguson says it was a day full of surprises, indeed.

But Henrik Stenson looms large after a 66 in the toughest winds, Jay Coffin notes.

Alex Miceli on the morning wave definitely getting less wind, but they still faced enough difficulty.

Coffin wrote about first round leader Marcus Fraser from Australia, who posted 63 thanks to perfect course conditioning, but by no means calm conditions.

G.C. Digital with key stats from day one,  a miracle considering the expected scoring and stat issues.

First grouping member and Canadian Graham DeLaet overcame first tee nerves and the weight of lingering chip yips to post an opening 66. Great stuff from Bob Harig on DeLaet’s honor of going first out

I wrote about Bubba's amazingly positive reviews of all things Rio, golf course and maintenance. Shoot, he even didn't have much issue with his 73.

Photos from the IGF's official photographers Stan Badz and Chris Condon.

And in case you are wondering why golf might look extra great to the IOC, consider that a boxer tried to assault a housekeeper and still got to fight a match, a sailor is battling a serious Guanabara Bay infection, while one of the key pools for water polo and sychronized swimming has turned green.

Or, in Ryan Lochte's case, turned his bleach hair green.