Australian golfer Adam Scott removed his name from consideration for a spot in the Tokyo Olympics way back in April.
With the event a few weeks away, Scott is more than certain of his decision.
“No, definitely no second thoughts about it,” Scott said at the Open Championship on Tuesday. “It’s questionable, really, whether it should go ahead, an event of that scale. The fan situation is not good at the moment.
“I don’t think certain parts of the world don’t understand the fear that the Japanese are experiencing at the moment. They’re not as advanced vaccination-wise as some other areas. You have to question whether it’s really a responsible decision to go ahead.”
Tokyo entered a new state of emergency Monday due to rising numbers of COVID-19 cases, and Olympic organizers have announced a complete ban on spectators at the Games, whether from home or abroad.
Scott clarified the pandemic was his initial reason for skipping the Olympics.
“That’s not really why I’m not going anyway. I’ve been home seven weeks so far this year, and it’s hard to justify another week away,” Scott said.
The Olympics are scheduled for July 23-Aug. 8, delayed a year from their initial date due to the pandemic. The men’s golf competition at Kasumigaseki Country Club will be played July 29-Aug. 1. Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman are set to represent Australia.
Because golf was absent from the Olympics for more than 100 years until 2016, not all golfers view the Games with equal regard. Many prefer to focus on the PGA Tour schedule. Scott skipped the 2016 Olympics as well, at the time citing the uninteresting format and “weaker-than-most field.”
The 40-year-old Scott did have kind words for the Australian champion of another major event: Ash Barty and her recent victory at Wimbledon.
“I’m a tennis fan, and like everybody in Australia I’m a huge fan of Ash. She’s brilliant,” Scott said. “She’s having a great year, too. To win Wimbledon, it’s like winning The Open or the Masters, isn’t it, for a golfer. It feels like that.
“So it is incredibly significant. She played great, and it would be fun to keep that Aussie theme going and kind of take Wimbledon away from the UK and The Open trophy. That would be great.”
Scott’s only major victory came at the 2013 Masters. He placed inside the top 10 in four straight Open Championships from 2012 to 2015.
–Field Level Media