Jordan Spieth is Going for Olympic Gold (Video)

Kudos to Jordan Spieth – he wants to be an Olympic athlete!

Jordan Spieth is speaking out. He’s excited about golf’s return to the Olympic Games. I hope Spieth’s unabashed support for golf’s Olympic prospects marks a turning point in support among the pros.

Never mind that Vijay Singh, Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen, and Charl Schwartzl are taking a pass on the Olympic Games in Rio. Jordan Spieth isn’t about to turn his back on the opportunity to be an Olympic athlete.

On a day when Gary Player turned the Twitterverse blue with his scathing condemnation of South Africans Oosthuisen and Schwartzl, Spieth’s affirmation of the Olympic spirit is nothing short of refreshing.

The Black Knight had some harsh words for Oosthuizen and Schwartzl but his excoriation raised some broader questions about Olympic Golf and the lukewarm reception the Games have received in some pro golf circles.

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The esoteric debate about whether the Olympic Games should be limited to amateur athletes begs the question in this situation. The fact is that when the eligibility for golf’s return to the Olympic venue was established, participation was limited to professional players. For better or worse, the IGF used the OWGR and Rolex Rankings rather than the WAGR as the basis for Olympic eligibility.

Perhaps the IGF thought the pro rankings would yield greater nation representation, in keeping with the spirit of the modern Olympic Movement. Or perhaps there were other – more pragmatic – considerations in the IGF equation. Public support for the games is important and the top-rankings pros in the men’s and women’s games – players like Jordan Spieth and Lydia Ko, who’s had her eye on Olympic golf for the past two years – certainly have the star power to highlight golf’s return to the Olympic venue.

Perhaps as the 2016 Games are reviewed and assessed and evaluated the IGF will revisit the eligibility issue. For the moment, however, in design golf’s return to the Olympics will be a contest among the best athletes each nation has to offer; and isn’t that the historical essence of the Olympic Games?

Let’s refocus the spotlight just for a moment. Perhaps the various professional Tours could have done more to accommodate the Olympic Games in their 2016 scheduling. Perhaps a once-every-four-years jiggling of the major championships would have helped bypass or overcome the reluctance of some players – and let’s be forthright here, some male players – to disrupt their carefully crafted run-up preparations to the high-reward major championships.

Read more about the scheduling snarl that threatens golf’s Olympic return

Gary Player minces no words on this point. Without the possibility of financial reward, there’s been a decided lack of enthusiasm among some [male] pros for Olympic golf. If this is really about money, at best that’s unfortunate. It’s the highest-ranked players who can best afford to invest some free time in growing the game.

Next: Indian Golf Fans Dream of Olympic Gold

Golf’s charitable impulse has long been one of the sport’s most attractive features. Now it’s time for those players who are worrying about their wallets to remember that, always, charity begins at home. The game of golf needs their support at this historic juncture. I hope they get in line behind Jordan Spieth.