Fowler tries to make American absentees jealous

Kuchar says he is sure the International Olympic Committee will keep golf beyond 2020 when it reconsiders Games events next year.

A 60-man field for the 72-hole stroke-play event will find wildlife in abundance on the course with caimans and chunky rodents capybaras on the scene.

Watson, the two-time Masters champion, tees off at 8:14 a.m. ET on Thursday alongside Germany’s Martin Kaymer and India’s Anirban Lahiri.

Fellow USA team member Bubba Watson also made that decision and he moved into the condo across the hall on Tuesday night with Rickie Fowler all set to be his Olympic village tour guide.

The Americans are staying in the Olympic Village and are rubbing shoulders and sharing stories with other athletes.

“I want to hang out there, try to meet the other athletes and enjoy my time as an Olympian”.

The biggest thrill for so many has been hanging around so many Olympians.

Representing your country, be it at a Ryder Cup or the Olympics, transcends golf’s historic motivations of individual accomplishment, and if some failed to see the big picture through the fog of uncertainty, it’s as understandable as it is unfortunate. He has watched the Olympics and said every sport, no matter what it is, features the best in the world.

That’s partly because the world’s four top players – Australian Jason Day, Americans Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland – and many others made a decision to skip Rio, most citing fears of possible future birth defects linked to the mosquito-borne illness Zika.

But for those who did make the trip to Rio, who embraced the Games and all of the experiences that come with being an Olympic athlete, however quirky that may sometimes be, that choice has already been validated. “(There are) certainly going to be guys regretting it, thanks a lot to Rickie’s help.

The course, designed by American architect Gil Hanse specifically for the Rio Games, features wide fairways and no rough to account for wind that can get up to about 40 miles per hour, and already has this week. A surprise victor from a developing golf nation like Li Haotong of China or Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand? It belongs, because it’s a grand game, played by athletes who don’t dope or cheat. A dominant performance like Stenson at Royal Troon?

It’s kind of a no-brainer that if, at the end of play on Sunday, say, Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia were tied for the gold, the two global stars would have to go at least one extra hole to determine the overall victor.

One unknown remains the size of the gallery. Now it is but one of 39 sports or disciplines, many of them with a much greater tradition in the Olympics.

The other mystery is golf itself. “It’s played by so many people around the world”.

And then there have been his less public attempts to dig the needle a little deeper into those who opted out of an Olympic start. “We’re a different sport”. It’s time to talk about the ones who are. Ours is a bit more down to the form for the week and on any given day. “It’s a little trickier to find the golf and silver and bronze”.