An Italy worthy of a medal: it is that of Matteo Manassero and Nino Bertasio, the Azzurri who today take the field full of hope at the Olympic Golf Course, in the Reserva de Marapendi in Barra da Tijuca, Brazil. The appointment marks the return of golf to the Olympics, after 112 years of absence.
Ready to go, for the classic 72 holes, to be closed within 4 days with the least number of strokes possible, is scheduled for this morning at 7,30 (local time). It's a heart-pounding start for the 60 athletes who qualified and accepted the challenge. 34 countries are represented, including Brazil fielding Adilson da Silva, who takes the honor of the opening shot. The field ID says there are 7 of the top 15 players on the world order of merit, 6 major winners, 43 members of the European tour. The median age is 31 years old, ranging from 46-year-old Thai Thongchai Jaidee to 20-year-old Chinese Jeunghun Wang.
Big favorite is Henrik Stenson, world number 5, winner of the third major of the season. The 40-year-old Swede can't hide his emotion: “The whole world knows what a gold medal at the Olympic Games means, while not everyone knows what an Open Championship is. It's an honor for me to be here." A real bath of humility for the Open champion, a lesson that some of his colleagues who stayed at home should learn: from Jason Day to Rory McIlroy, from Jordan Spieth to Dustin Johnson. Because golf is above all this: fair play and sporting spirit, not just logos on the shirt and millionaire prizes. Rio 2016 represents a watershed in this world: on the one hand we find the great athletes, on the other the glutted professionals of the sport. Among the leading agonists, even our Italians and the blue hopes are not illusory.
Manassero already boasts four titles on the European tour, conquered all at a very young age and the crisis experienced in recent months seems to be behind us. "The Olympics are the ultimate expression of sport - says the 23-year-old from Verona - and I'm here to fight for a medal". Motivation and trust are indispensable ingredients for a good feeling and Manassero seems ready to seize this opportunity that life has offered him. Bertasio, 28, has played well all year and in Rio could reveal the temperament of a champion.
However, golf is always unpredictable and all participants are highly motivated. We recall, among others: Bubba watson (USA), left-handed, winner of two Masters, genius and recklessness, one of the longest shooters on the tour with his fuchsia driver, a champion who boasts that he has never taken a lesson; Rickie Fowler (USA), 27 years old, number 8 in the world, icon of the very young, centaur, passionate about motocross racing; Sergio Garcia (Spain), El Niño, number 11 in the world, heir to the great Iberian school embodied by the late Severiano Ballesteros; Danny Willett (England), 2016 Masters champion a few days after the birth of his first child; Justin Rose (England), one of the best swings of the tour; Martin Kaymer (German), the winning putt of the penultimate Ryder Cup; Padraig Harrington (Ireland), 44, the only one who switched swings after winning three majors, then waited 10 years before winning again; Byeong Hun An (South Korea), 24 years old, a sort of son of art, since both parents won a medal in pjng pong at the Seoul Olympics in 1988.
In the end, the best will win, because, as Manassero explains, the track, beaten by the winds, "doesn't favor one player to the detriment of another and in this it is very Olympic". The technical details of the route, designed by the American architect Gil Hanse, say that it is a par 71, about 6400 meters, with many bunkers, two lakes and small and wavy greens.
Those who wish to follow this extraordinary appointment can do so streaming on the website www.rai.it/rio2016/. Alternatively, we must hope that the three public service TV channels, reserved for the Olympics, will also find space for golf, among all the other sports. On this occasion we point out a new success for Italian golf: Luca Cianchetti, 21 years old from Modena, won the European Amateur Championship title. A success that earned him participation in the 2017 Open Championship, one of the 4 grand slam competitions.
