2016 Olympics – Capybaras, Boa Constrictors, and Olympic Golf

Capybaras threaten to steal the Olympic golf show this week!

Rio may or may not have been ready for the 2016 Olympic Games.  The water may or may not be safe.  The mosquitos may or may not pose a real health threat.  The city itself may or may not be fully prepared for the influx of athletes and spectators who have descended on it.  But on Friday, August 6 at 7pm local time, whether or not Rio was ready, the athletes marched into Olympic Stadium, the torch was lit, and the 2016 Summer Games began.

There have been uncertainties and controversies, predictions of disaster, threatening to overshadow golf’s return to the Olympic venue.  Still, the sport is poised at last to fulfill the assurance Peter Dawson made on behalf of the IGF to the IOC in golf bid to join the modern Olympic Games.

We stand ready to play our full part in the Olympic movement. We are one sport speaking with one voice, with one objective: to return golf to the Olympic program. – Peter Dawson to the IOC

Against all odds and innumerable obstacles, Gil Hanse and his team, which included LPGA Legend Amy Alcott, have produced a golf course worthy of Olympic competition.  It’s a links course of sorts, without trees or rough, built on a sand quarry.  The track will measure 7128 yards for the men and 6245 for the women – a bit short by contemporary pro standards – with plenty of wind, sand, and water to challenge the sport’s 120 Olympians representing 41 countries in golf’s 2 events.

Preliminary player feedback on the track, coming from the practice rounds, is very positive.  The course is in superb condition and the par 71 layout is working exactly as Hanse intended in his design.  We’ll want to watch the closing stretch closely.  A drivable par 4 (No. 16) followed by a short par 3 (No. 17) and then a par 5 (No. 18) could make for some dramatic finishes.

There will be, as well, some indigenous fauna that golf’s Olympians probably haven’t encountered on the groomed and established tracks where they typically compete – boa constrictors, three-toed sloths, monkeys and capybaras.  The pig-like capybaras, which are large rodents that somehow combine pig, rat, gopher, and baby hippo characteristics, could steal the show at the Olympic golf venue!

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3s2MVHh9WY[/embedyt]
 
The capybaras aren’t the only potential wildlife problem for the players.  A pair of burrowing owls have already set up housekeeping under the lip of a greenside bunker on the ninth hole.  If you’re watching closely you’ll be able to see their front door!

I’m looking forward to Olympic golf. I’ve watched Team USA gymnasts and swimmers collect gold and I’m optimistic about the possibilities for American golfers.  The Olympic spirit – an international celebration of sport punctuated by nations in competition – seems tailor-made for the game of golf.  The controversies and withdrawals are behind us.

The men’s 1st and 2nd round pairings and tee times are set.  Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, and Patrick Reed are among the best in the field this week and likewise Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis, and Gerina Piller are well positioned to lead the women’s field next week.

Let’s enjoy golf’s return to the Olympic Games!

Cover Photo via Instagram