GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA | A week and an ocean away from his Olympic experience in Paris, Shane Lowry still feels the glow from an event that cemented its unique place in the game not just because world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler shot 62 on Sunday to win the gold medal but because of how the competition looked, felt and resonated.
From the moment Lowry carried the Irish flag in the opening ceremony until he arrived here at the rain-threatened Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club this week intent on resuming his quest to be relevant when the FedEx Cup playoffs conclude in three weeks, this Olympic experience was different.
It’s a sentiment shared by many who saw golf in the Olympics finally arrive as one of the game’s biggest events.
“Walking onto that first tee and getting announced on Thursday was incredible. There are very few tournaments at that level. Honestly, it felt like one of the biggest tournaments in the world; it really did,” Lowry said.
“I think it was an amazing week for golf and it was an amazing week for golf in the Olympics, and I think it will grow going forward. Obviously, we had a great podium as well, which helps, and great people to help promote the game as well. I think as regards golf in the Olympics, I think it should be here to stay.”
Lowry played in 2021 in the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics, but because of COVID there were no spectators and there was a muted feel to the event. With no fans allowed at Le Golf National during practice rounds, Lowry wasn’t sure what to expect until he saw and heard the thousands gathered around the first tee on Thursday in Guyancourt, west of Paris.
It never slowed down, culminating with a brilliant finish that involved many of the game’s biggest names.
Frenchman Victor Perez was part of the Sunday storyline, storming into contention over the final nine holes. Seemingly out of contention midway through the final round, Perez ignited the largely French crowd when he played a five-hole stretch in 6-under par to put himself in position to win a medal.
Perez ultimately finished fourth, one stroke shy of a medal, but with a sense that golf in the Olympics had turned a corner.
“When I was 10 years old developing your dreams as a kid, the Olympics weren’t a thing anyway, so it was about watching Tiger win the Masters; it was someone winning the Open; it was about that. Whereas now, hopefully the young kids that were 6, 8, 10 years old that came to the Olympics hoping to get Scottie Scheffler’s ball or Rory McIlroy’s ball or anything really at the end, it was at the Olympics, it wasn’t at the Open,” said Perez, one of 21 players in the Wyndham field who also played in France last week.
“So hopefully the emotion that the kids felt along the way are going to translate into dreams that maybe one day they’re hoping to win the 2040 Olympics, wherever that is. I’m guessing that’s going to change because kids are going to be exposed to it from an early age.”
“It was amazing. It was great for golf. It shows how important it is.” – Min Woo Lee
Min Woo Lee, who represented Australia last week, echoed the enthusiasm.
“It was amazing. It was great for golf. It shows how important it is,” Lee said.
When the men’s golf competition ended, Ireland’s McIlroy and Spain’s Jon Rahm spoke about how the Ryder Cup and the Olympics are reminders that, in a game ripped apart by a money-driven divide, playing for their countries rather than for a paycheck is a rare privilege.
Jhonattan Vegas played in the 2016 and 2020 Olympics and felt the tug of missing out on representing Venezuela this time.
“We just get so caught up here with professional golf and money and all the benefits we have by playing the best tour in the world that we sometimes forget, you know, what golf is all about, right?” Vegas said.
“It’s playing for everyone out there that is supporting you and wants to root for you. That’s kind of what Olympic golf is. You’re playing for your country; you’re playing to give your country a medal; you’re representing your colors. When you’re playing for something bigger than yourself, you realize that golf is a lot bigger than this.”
This week is the final event of the FedEx Cup regular season with spots in the top 70 – which come with a ticket to the playoffs – still to be determined.
Beyond the uncertainty of who might claim the final spots, there is the threat of heavy rain from the remnants of Hurricane Debby, which could wipe out Thursday’s play entirely and stretch into Friday.
“It’s just not what you’re used to coming to Greensboro,” Lowry said. “You’re used to 100 degrees and the ball going far and the course playing firm and fast, but it is what it is, and it will be the same for everyone out there.”
© 2024 Global Golf Post LLC