Potential Olympic postponement could have major impact on golf competition - Golf.com

Unlike the 2016 Games when the John Deere Classic was opposite Olympic competition, the Tour created the 2019-20 schedule with the Olympics in mind, taking the week of the Olympic golf competition off in late July. Would there be any more flexibility from the Tour?

It’s an interesting thought experiment, but one that does not have many immediate answers. The Tour had no comment when reached for a statement.

Even if the Tour could alter its schedule, would they want to? The month of August is occupied by its golden goose, the FedEx Cup Playoffs, and then the Ryder Cup follows shortly after that.

There is no definitive schedule for the 2021 season made public yet, but going off recent history, the rest of September’s events do not usually attract big-name fields. However, the Asia swing in October, with its larger purses, is a big draw for the world’s best.

Another question is how much do players really want to play in the Olympics? After scores of pro golfers decided to skip the 2016 Games in light of the Zika virus outbreak, Dustin Johnson became the first golfer to publicly announce his intention to skip the Tokyo Games. More could soon follow suit. And with the possibility of a postponement of the Games still in play, the field in this year’s Olympic competition could get quite thin.

Although the IOC released a statement expressing full commitment to the Games proceeding as scheduled, the continuing evolution of the coronavirus leaves a multitude of plausible scenarios in play.

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https://www.golf.com/news/2020/03/03/potential-olympic-postponement-affect-golf/

2020-03-03 17:13:26Z
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