Outgoing IGF Head Dawson On Olympic Golf: "We would like to try to find...some kind of team format"

In a wide ranging interview broken up in to a pair of Insidethegames.com by Mike Rowbottom, outgoing International Golf Federation head Peter Dawson reflected on the Rio games, golf’s future in the Games and big (crowd) “numbers” he expects for Tokyo 2020 in 2021.

He also hinted at what might be plans for a team addition to the Games and defended the current 72-hole stroke play format.

"They [the IOC] wanted the format in the Olympic Games that was prevalent in the sport, not some fancy format for the Olympics," he said.

"And strokeplay is the way that golf largely determines its major champions."

Asked if he sees that changing, Dawson responded: "We would like to try to find a way, potentially, of getting at some kind of team format as part of the golf process.

"It would simply be the addition of the performances of the individuals, adding together their gross scores.

"There have been other formats where that has been done – at the Canada Cup and the World Golf Championships.

"A personal view is that I would like to see that add to the competitive landscape of the Games - but that’s a matter for others now.

Anything would be better than just two stroke play events. The bar is low, let’s raise it before golf gets run back out of the Games again.

Annika Sorenstam takes over as IGF head January 1.

Also worth reading is Rowbottom’s look back with Dawson at Rio 2016 and some of the wild comments in the run-up to those games ultimately boycotted by several players over Zika virus concerns.

Australia’s two-time British Open winner Greg Norman told The Sunday Times pre-Olympics: "There’s a disaster building. Google the name of it and you will see that it is located on what was a swamp.

"There are problems with pollution, with the perimeter property. You’re much more exposed to the possibility of a mosquito bite there than if you are competing inside the stadium.

"I hope that is their reasoning and it’s not just because they fancy a break. I fear now that golf might not survive beyond its two-Games cycle. The reputation of the sport looks like it is going to get a black eye over Rio."

McIlroy compounded the IGF’s discomfiture by subsequently claiming at a press conference: "I'll probably watch the Olympics, but I'm not sure golf will be one of the events I watch.” After being asked which events he would watch, the 27-year-old stated: "Probably the events like track and field, swimming, diving, the stuff that matters."

What we wouldn’t give now for the gravity of a Zika virus scare.