Adam Scott: Olympic golf would be best with amateur players
From the beginning, golf sold the International Olympic Committee on its return to the Olympic program with the idea that the game's greatest players would compete on the quadrennial stage. It was central to golf landing a spot in the 2016 and '20 Games.
However, as the Rio Games loom less than two years away, critics -- including me -- of the tournament format and qualifying criteria are still nervous Olympic golf will turn out to be the blockbuster it could otherwise be with a billion-plus-person audience.
Adam Scott, an Aussie likely to qualify for the 2016 Olympic tournament, seems to agree. Speaking ahead of this week's Australian PGA Championship, Scott said the tournament would be better were it reserved for amateur players.
“People watch us (as pros) play 45 weeks a year,” Scott said, according to the Courier-Mail in Australia. “If you really wanted to grow the game you’d have the Olympics for amateurs.”
Instead, 60 men and women will compete in separate events, with the field drawn from the Official World Golf Ranking and Rolex Rankings, respectively. While many, including Scott and Phil Mickelson, have said they'd like to participate in golf's return to the Olympics after a 112-year absence, most players have also said their broader focus remains on major championships. If golf survives to a third Games in 2024, that perception could change, but integrating an Olympic gold medal into the pantheon of most-desired trophies in the game will take time.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
