Like most of the country, it seems, I was off my seat and practically swimming each and every stroke with Daniel Wiffen as he covered the final couple of legs of his 800m freestyle Olympic Final.
And like most of the country, I’d wager, once the Olympics end, it’ll probably be another four years before I’m particularly excited about swimming again. That’s nothing against the swimmers themselves, of course, but there are only so many sports I can find time to get invested in and as my better half will likely attest, I’m already invested in way too many.
Olympic Golf, however, is one that has yet to fully grip me, even though it was arguably the sport that gave Ireland its best medal chance in 2021 and hopes are maybe higher still that our golfers can grab one of those precious metals in Paris this year.
But maybe it’s Olympic fever, maybe it’s the efforts of Mona McSharry and Daniel Wiffen, maybe it’s been aided by the recent incredible European Athletics Championships where Irish Track & Field athletes performed so well, or maybe it’s because, finally, we have an Olympic Games where the leading four or five golfers in the world will take part in both the men’s and women’s events, but I’m finally starting to feel the first signs of that little tingle I get on major championship weeks.
It helps that the golf course is a familiar one, one that has hosted big events on the DP World Tour and, of course, the 2018 Ryder Cup. It’s also a course that is tough, a course that demands accuracy and precision, and a course that each of the 60 men and women will feel they can compete on if their games are in good stead.
It also helps that the defending champions in both the men’s and women’s events are there in search of second Gold Medals, and that the leading contenders have all made no secret of their desires to add medals to their trophy cabinets.
Additionally, when money has never been a bigger talking point in the sport, and accusations of wanton greed have hung like a dark cloud over much of the past two-and-a-half years, it’s refreshing that there won’t be a penny paid in prizemoney, regardless of who stands atop the podium when all is said and done at Le Golf National.
Olympic Golf still has a long way to go to match the prestige that the equivalent medals for swimming, etc. hold, but it’s a big step in the right direction in 2024.
