Golf’s return to the Olympic Games will see 70 per cent of the men’s field bound for Rio comprising European Tour and Challenge Tour members.
The qualification period ended on Sunday and an impressive 42 of the 60 players set to represent their countries in golf’s return to the Olympic fold after a 112-year absence come from both the European and Challenge Tour ranks.
Those 42 players will be representing 28 countries in vying for medals over the Gil Hanse-designed Olympic Course in the Barra da Tijuca region of Rio. Australia, Belgium, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Great Britain, Italy, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and Thailand will all have two European Tour members competing.
What they said:
Justin Rose:
"I'm excited about it and treating it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Just being a part of Team GB, in a sense you feel like you're part of something bigger than just your individual sport.
"I've never been to an Olympic Games in any capacity. To go as an athlete is a huge honour."
Joost Luiten:
"For me it’s an honour to be the first Dutch golfer going to the Olympics. Hopefully we can have a good week there and try and get a medal. It’s something you dream of – as a kid when you’re watching the Olympics you want to compete yourself.
Ryan Fox:
"I'd be the third generation of my family to represent New Zealand in three different sports - my mum's dad played cricket for New Zealand in the 1930s to 1950s and my dad played for the All Blacks.
"So that would be a pretty cool thing to do, to be an Olympian and part of our family legacy."
Jaco Van Zyl:
"To me, the Olympics is the pinnacle of all sporting events and to have the chance to represent Team South Africa on sports’ biggest stage is an honour I don’t take for granted."
Li Haotong:
“Qualifying for the Olympics is a dream come true. The Olympics is very special to people from China. Ever since I knew I had a chance, I have been thinking about it."
Espen Kofstad:
"I’ve been going for it all year, and getting closer and closer to getting in, but it’s all about playing well and winning golf tournaments.
“I left it late, until the last hole [of the D+D REAL Slovakia Challenge], but winning solves a lot of things and I think it now has solved this one and got me into Rio."
European Tour and Challenge Tour Members in Bold:-
1 Bubba Watson USA
2 Henrik Stenson SWE
3 Rickie Fowler USA
4Danny Willett GBR
5 Justin Rose GBR
6Sergio Garcia ESP
7 Patrick Reed USA
8 Matt Kuchar USA
9Rafa Cabrera Bello ESP
10Byeong Hun An KOR
11Thongchai Jaidee THA
12 Danny Lee NZL
13Emiliano Grillo ARG
14 David Lingmerth SWE
15Søren Kjeldsen DEN
16Bernd Wiesberger AUT
17Martin Kaymer GER
18 Kiradech Aphibarnrat THA
19Francesco Molinari ITA
20Anirban Lahiri IND
21Thorbjørn Olesen DEN
22Joost Luiten NED
23 Thomas Pieters BEL
24Jaco Van Zyl RSA
25 Fabian Gomez ARG
26Jeunghun Wang KOR
27Scott Hend AUS
28Marcus Fraser AUS
29Brandon Stone RSA
30 Yuta Ikeda JPN
31 Shingo Katayama JPN
32Grégory Bourdy FRA
33Julien Quesne FRA
34Nicolas Colsaerts BEL
35 Ricardo Gouveia POR
36 David Hearn CAN
37Wu Ashun CHN
38 Miguel Tabuena PHI
39 Li Haotong CHN
40 Alex Cejka GER
41 Graham DeLaet CAN
42Fabrizio Zanotti PAR
43Padraig Harrington IRL
44Ryan Fox NZL
45 SSP Chawrasia IND
46 Danny Chia MAS
47Mikko Ilonen FIN
48 Jhonattan Vegas VEN
49Felipe Aguilar CHI
50 Cheng Tsung Pan TPE
51 Adilson da Silva BRA
52 Seamus Power IRL
53Espen Kofstad NOR
54Roope Kakko FIN
55Nino Bertasio ITA
56Siddikur Rahman BAN
57 Camilo Villegas COL
58 Wen-Tang Lin TPE
59 Angelo Que PHI
60Gavin Kyle Green MAS
