Shane Lowry described carrying the Irish Olympic flag at last week's opening ceremony as "an amazing experience and something that I'll remember forever."

Matthieu Pavon was quoted earlier this week as saying, "I always felt like major for golf is more important because we have not really grown up with the Olympics. After a few days in the Olympic Village, the opening ceremony in Paris with all this crowd in front of the Eiffel Tower and all the great moments we spent the last few days, it really feels like a gold medal would be now ranked higher than a major for me."

Rory McIlroy, an early critic of Olympic Golf, stated, "I don't know if anything will be able to sit alongside the majors. We have our four events a year that are the gold standard. But I think this is going to be, in time, going to be right up there amongst that."

But players haven't always felt this way about Olympic Golf.  Rewind only eight years and Olympic Golf was viewed with criticism and scepticism.  Only four of the world's top ten golfers played in the Rio Olympics and none of the top four made the trip to Brazil.  The Zika virus was cited by many of the world's top male golfers as a reason not to participate but that was largely felt to be an excuse for a wider sense of apathy amongst male professionals towards golf as an Olympic sport.  A supposition that isn't unreasonable when only one female golfer (Lee-Anne Pace) withdrew for the same reason.

Zika wasn't the only reason why players were reluctant to participate in 2016.  Players received no prize money or credits towards their status on the PGA Tour.  Somewhat unbelievably looking back at it, the PGA Tour ran the John Deere Classic opposite the Olympic event in Rio, with the John Deere offering $4.8m in prize money and 500 FedEx Cup points.  Brendon de Jonge was one player who cited the need to stay in America and concentrate on his Tour status rather than represent his country in Brazil.

Perhaps the most damning indictment of golf's inclusion within the Olympics came from Rory McIlroy who was quoted in 2016 as saying, "I didn’t get into golf to try to grow the game. I got into golf to win championships and win majors. All of a sudden you get to this point and there is a responsibility on you to grow the game and I get that. But at the same time that’s not the reason I got into golf. I got into golf to win. I didn’t get into golf to get other people into the game."

Adam Scott, who remains an Olympic sceptic, was quoted in 2016 as saying, "Whether I win an Olympic medal or not is not going to define my career or change whether I’ve fulfilled my career. It’s nothing I’ve ever aspired to do and I don’t think I ever will. It’s all about the four majors and that’s the way it should stay for golf. 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."

Even Zach Johnson got in on the act, saying "I don't know if golf has its place in the Olympics now. Golf fans really look forward to the majors and the Ryder Cup in particular. I know, as a player, those are my main motivations."

So just how has the Olympic golf turned perceptions around in eight years and will we see a similar scenario play out in relation to LIV Golf?

The old adage states that nobody likes change.  Asking players in 2016 to travel to a country that isn't a usual stop for golf, on an unknown course, whilst the PGA Tour continued on as if the event wasn't happening, was always likely to be a tough sell.  After all, if the PGA Tour couldn't find room in the schedule for the event, why should the players? 

The majors have long been established as the pinnacle of the game and there was certainly a lack of context regarding where an Olympic medal ranked in comparison.  Thankfully, the PGA Tour has now cleared a space in the schedule for the event and it certainly helps that this year's Olympics follows the fourth and final major of 2024.  Context has also come in the form of understanding where an Olympic medal would rank in a player's career achievements.  Most players would rather win a major but the Olympics has arguably now usurped the Players Championship as the 'fifth major' in golf.

Perhaps the biggest selling point to emerge from the Olympics was the experiences of those who participated in Rio and Tokyo.  Being able to call yourself an Olympian was an honour amongst many of the players, Danny Lee and Ben An being two players who cited this as an important factor in their decision to participate.  It also helps that the two previous winners, Justin Rose and Xander Schauffele, have significant standing in the game and have been fine role models for others to look up to.

Golf can look towards tennis as an example of a sport that is centred around four majors and struggled initially to find a place for Olympic competition.  Only three of the world's top ten participated in the 1988 Olympics when tennis was once again made an Olympic sport.  Fast forward 36 years and Andy Murray has opted to make the Olympic tennis event his final one before retirement.

British tennis player, Tim Henman, was quoted in 2016 as saying "When tennis was a recognised Olympic sport, the feeling wasn't particularly strong. But fast forward 30 years and tennis is right up there in terms of the stature of the event. It has evolved and golf will take time to evolve."  Attitudes towards the Olympics are certainly evolving and the standing of the sport within the Olympics will only grow further as contests are held in the golf hotbeds of America and Australia in the coming years.  

Does the precedent set by the Olympics offer hope to LIV Golf that in time it will be accepted?  

In all likelihood, yes and no. The Olympics happens once every four years.  Collin Morikawa said earlier this week that, "We hear Xander get announced on the tee as the reigning gold medalist. As a major champion, you hear it for a year. But this, you hear it for four. It's a pretty cool thing to have."  The scarcity of an Olympic medal will make it something to be coveted in future and whilst the money offered by LIV is enticing, winning LIV Mayakoba or LIV Nashville, or even a LIV Championship, won't ever be the same as winning an Olympic Gold.

One of the main reasons cited by players for their enthusiasm towards the Olympics is that it gives them a sense of national pride.  Representing their country is an honour and that feeling is unlikely to be replicated by representing the Range Goats or the Cleeks.  With that said, LIV could, and indeed arguably should, move towards having teams represent individual countries, just as they have done with Stinger GC and Ripper GC.

The other aspect cited by players as the big positive for Olympic participation is the wider sense of belonging it gives them.  Golf is an individual sport and having the opportunity to stay in the Olympic village with athletes from a range of other disciplines gives a wider appreciation of being part of a team.  The players who have moved over to LIV often cite the team aspect as being a key factor in their enthusiasm for the format so it certainly won't hinder LIV that players will get to experience being part of the team as part of the Olympics.  

Perhaps the biggest encouragement for LIV comes from the fact that time remains a great healer.  Time allows for the change to be accepted and we are are already seeing a softening of the stance towards LIV from certain quarters.  Most notably, Rory McIlroy was an ardent opponent of both LIV and the Olympics but has now revised his opinion on both.  Whilst his views on LIV are not as positive as his views on the Olympics, LIV is only three years old and further time could see the format being accepted, especially if a deal is struck with the PGA Tour.  LIV should certainly take encouragement from the fact attitudes have changed towards the Olympic golf competition.

You can view our other blogs HERE.