JOIN USGolfers enjoy return party
The first day of Olympic golf in 112 years was a golf lesson as much as a golf tournament.
Once spectators were past security, one of the first signs to greet them read, "Golf was created in Scotland in the Middle Ages." Another pointed out that "the winner is the golfer who completes all holes in the fewest strokes."
"Grow the game" was the mantra when golf returned to the Olympics, but there were few potential Brazilian converts on site on Thursday morning when their compatriot Adilson da Silva became the first golfer since 1904 to hit an Olympic tee shot.
For the record, da Silva found the fairway, even on precious little sleep. "I kept waking in the night," he said. "I don't know, man -- it's hard to switch your mind off sometimes when you're thinking and thinking about this thing."
At 44, he called it the biggest shot of his life -- the sort of shot he could never, in his wildest daydreams, have imagined hitting when he was carving branches into golf clubs as a youngster in the Brazilian city of Santa Cruz do Sul.
Who could have known that he would find a pathway into the professional game after an unlikely move to South Africa? Who could have known that Rio de Janeiro would become the first South American city to host the Olympics and that golf would actually be back on the programme when it did?
Who could have known that he -- of all the men playing this game for a living -- would be the one selected to provide the reintroductory tee shot?
Asked after his opening round of 1-over-par 72 to share the story of how he had started to play, da Silva was soon overcome with emotion, dipping his chin and wiping away tears, unable to speak for more than 20 seconds.
It had been quite a journey, and although it was impossible to look at the list of 60 men who played in the first round on Thursday and not notice the stars who were missing, it was just as impossible to ignore what the moment meant to da Silva and many of those who had decided to seize this unexpected opportunity.
"I said to the guys on the tee, we're all Olympians and nobody can take that away from us," said Padraig Harrington of Ireland, a three-time major champion. "With this event, there's a genuine feeling that this may be my only chance. Who knows in four years' time where I'll stand in the world of golf? I realise how quick it changes, so there was a feeling of trepidation, a feeling of joy after hitting the first shot. I'm an Olympic athlete now forever, and what's different about this event is that every week we play, 156 guys tee it up, and there are 155 losers. This week, 60 guys tee it up, and there are 60 winners."
Still, some winners last Thursday shuttled back to the Olympic Village feeling happier than others. Englishman Justin Rose made a hole in one on the 191-yard, par-3 fourth hole on his way to a 67.
Six of the top 10 in the world rankings chose to pass on the Olympics, including the top four: Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy. All four cited health concerns and the Zika virus, which is transmitted by mosquitoes and can cause birth defects.
Marcus Fraser, 38, would not have made the Australian Olympic team had Day, Adam Scott and other higher-ranked Australians not withdrawn.
"I'm glad they decided not to come," he said. "I really want to be here, and it's exciting, but at the same time I've really got to respect the decisions those guys made not to be here. They know it's a special event, and for other reasons, they decided not to come.
For them, they have young families and things like that, and there are a lot of things that have to be taken into account."
But there is still the fact that more than 10,000 Olympic athletes did come to Rio despite the risks. And in the midst of the Southern Hemisphere winter, mosquitoes have been scarce on the grounds.
Bubba Watson, the leading American in Rio, expressed his sympathy for the absent.
"I feel sorry for the guys that didn't make the team, and I feel sorry for the guys around the world who didn't come here or couldn't come here," he said after his 73. "It's an absolutely amazing place. Especially to the golfers. This course is in perfect shape, and I'm having a blast. I can't wait to watch other sports."
That seems the true difference here. Top golfers already represent their countries regularly in the team events: the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup. But they do not get to play for their countries alongside athletes from so many other sports and disciplines. American Matt Kuchar took inspiration from watching in person as Michael Phelps.