Golf and the Olympics

crodonilson said:

I see now Oosthuizen has joined Singh and Scott in confirming he will not compete at the Olympics with more expected to follow. What an absolute joke, who was the plum who voted golf into the Olympics?? Don't see any of these players rejecting the Masters or the Open. The only thing that can save this shambles now is if Woods can get fit for the tournament.

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crodonilson said:

I see now Oosthuizen has joined Singh and Scott in confirming he will not compete at the Olympics with more expected to follow. What an absolute joke, who was the plum who voted golf into the Olympics?? Don't see any of these players rejecting the Masters or the Open. The only thing that can save this shambles now is if Woods can get fit for the tournament.

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Bold Seagull said:

Absolute joke. A gold medal should be for sports where that medal is the pinnacle for them, not an inconvenience in between established majors. .

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Exile said:

You're left with athletics, swimming and archery

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Exile said:

I agree in principle, but that criteria would rule out a lot of established sports.

Golf - they'd rather win the Open - agreed should not be in.
Tennis - they'd rather win Wimbledon - agreed it should not be in
Sailing - America's Cup WAY bigger - disagree. America's cup is completely different. That is like comparing formula one with rally driving because they are both in cars.
Eventing - Badminton, Burghley, etc WAY bigger - the Olympic 3DE is at CCI two star level (the big events are 4 star), so that the weaker nations have horse / riders who can qualify - while the competitors may be on average weaker the top ones are still there. I would be amazed if eventing bods would not rather win Olympic gold than one of these annual events that only horsey folk care about.
Football - obviously - agreed. Crazy it is in.
Road Cycling - TdF about 1000x more important to them - to an extent but people who win road race would never win the tour. Time trial? Yes tour Winners win but not the road race where you need to be a sprinter. It is more like winning one stage of the tour isn't it?
Basketball - a few Hungarians might like it, but its no NBA - agreed. Silly. But I had a belting night at the basketball in 2012.
Boxing - pfft - completely disagree. This is the peak of amateur boxing. Letting in pros would ruin it.

You're left with athletics, swimming and archery

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Berty23 said:

I have disagreed with many of these above.

I would add squash.

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Bold Seagull said:

Still feel gutted for Squash, for a truly multinational sport, it would have meant everything, and like the Commonwealth Games would have been a TV highlight.

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