Adam Scott may still earn a spot in the field when golf makes its return to the Olympics next summer, but don’t expect the Aussie to plan his schedule around a possible trip to Brazil.
Speaking to Reuters at the Wells Fargo Championship, Scott downplayed the importance of the Olympic Games for his sport, adding that golf “doesn’t need to be in the Olympics.”
“It’s nothing I’ve aspired to, and I don’t think I ever will. It’s all about the four majors, and I think that’s the way it should stay for golf,” Scott said. “To go and play an exhibition event down there to meet some athletes (in other sports) in the middle of the major season, I don’t think any other athletes in their sport would do that.”
Scott entered this week ranked No. 11 in the OWGR, and based on the current standings he would earn one of two spots for Australian golfers in Rio behind Jason Day. The final field of 60 players will be determined by a two-year, rolling ranking that will run from the 2014 Open Championship to next year’s Open at Royal Troon.
The golf portion of next year’s Olympics will be held in early August, meaning that the PGA Championship at Baltusrol will be moved to late July. The 34-year-old already plays a light schedule, and he doesn’t plan to shift his focus to accommodate a new event.
“I’m planning my schedule around playing majors the best I can. If I can fit going to the Olympics into that, it might be a bit of fun, then lucky me if I qualify,” he said. “But if not, I’m not going to miss it, that’s for sure, and I’ll enjoy watching.”
