Two of the top 12 golfers in the world have now removed themselves from consideration for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Louis Oosthuizen announced on Thursday that he would join Adam Scott, who made his decision earlier in the week, and not compete for his home country of South Africa.
In a statement, Oosthuizen said he had "long deliberations" about the decision. "I have always represented South Africa with pride so didn't make my decision without a great deal of thought," said Oosthuizen, who cited family and schedule issues. "I would like to wish our golfers and all other athletes competing in Brazil all the very best for success."
A quick reminder of a quote from International Golf Federation (IGF) executive director Antony Scanlon from earlier in 2016 about top golfers playing in the 2016 Olympics.
"They are going to be there [in Rio de Janeiro]," Scanlon told ESPN. "Any athlete who qualifies will be there. They see the significance of this event to golf and for the opportunity this presents them. There are benefits to be gained from participation and winning a medal. For a starter, there is a television audience of 3.6bn. They don't normally get that every weekend!"
So the Olympic golf experiment continues to go poorly for everyone involved. Players clearly are not thrilled about working in another event right after major season, and the Olympics will suffer because of it.
