This time of year, the events are coming thick and fast, but this week is extremely special!
For golfers, typically you are really only ever playing for yourself and for personal gain. I think the chance of being an Olympian and winning a gold medal in an Olympic Games is the pinnacle of sport, so personally I am thrilled golf was reintroduced at the Rio games back in 2016 after a 112-year absence.
As they only come around once every 4 years, it’s great to see the majority of world’s best are representing their countries and the sport of golf, giving the acknowledgment I believe the Olympics deserve.
It’s hard to predict who will reign above the rest on Sunday evening, because it’s an event not like any other. There’s no financial gain, but the sense of achievement and pride is something very few get to feel… It’s certainly a goal of mine to hopefully one day represent GBR and become an Olympian!
Who Will Take Home Gold?
Who’s going to claim the prestigious gold medal? It’s a tough call, and given the way the majors and biggest events have concluded this year, I would say it’s hard to look past a high-profile player winning. Hideki Matsuyama, following his Masters victory earlier this year and with being on home soil, will be a contender. It’s also hard to overlook Collin Morikawa given his flawless performance at Royal St George’s a few weeks ago. That being said, there’s a host of other major champions that have also made the trip to Tokyo.
Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Shane Lowry and Patrick Reed, to name a few, and the latter replacing Bryson DeChambeau after a late positive covid test, which also disqualified the world number one Jon Rahm from the event, which was a real shame.
Without question, I will be watching and personally I’ll be routing for Tommy Fleetwood (70/1). He’s been close in majors the last few years and so hopefully he can bring the gold medal back to Britain following in the footsteps of Justin Rose back in 2016! Come on TOMMY!