Yahoo Finance 3 business storylines to watch at golf's British Open
The 145th Open Championship tees off on Thursday at Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland, and this year there will be more going on under the surface than just golf.
Also called the British Open, or, by golf fans simply The Open, it is the oldest of the sport’s four Majors. This year’s tournament comes at a time when the sport is in the news every day for reasons political, international and anything but typical.
Olympic golf and Zika
Golf will be an Olympic sport this summer, at the Summer Games in Rio, for the first time in 112 years, after the International Olympic Committee voted in 2009 to bring back golf for 2016 and 2020. But beginning back in April, golfers have been opting out of the Olympics. Many of them, including top-ranked stars like Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, and Rory McIlroy, have cited the Zika virus in Brazil as their reason for not going, but others have simply pointed to their schedule.
As of July 10, at least 17 golfers (including just one woman) have pulled out of the Olympics, leading to a media firestorm around whether golf should have even been an Olympic sport. (The players can’t earn money from competing, and have PGA Tour events just before and just after the Olympics that are undoubtedly more important to them.) Although golf governing bodies like the International Golf Federation, as well as famous retired golfers like Jack Nicklaus, have lamented the exodus, not many have criticized individual golfers for dropping out, since Zika is a legitimate concern and many have cited concerns for their family, and the fact that they may have more children.
But on Tuesday, in a press conference at Royal Troon, the narrative changed. Rory McIlroy told the media, “Honestly, I don’t think it was as difficult a decision for me as it was for him,” referring to American Jordan Spieth, who said he agonized over the decision not to go. “I don’t feel like I’ve let the game down at all,” McIlroy said. “I didn’t get into golf to try and grow the game. I got into golf to win championships.” In response to a reporter’s question, he even said he isn’t likely to watch the Olympic golf at home on television. Instead, he’ll watch, “track and field, swimming, diving… The stuff that matters.”
Golf pundits were quick to excoriate McIlroy for his comments, which were seen as anti-patriotic as well as against the spirit of advancing the global popularity of golf. Brandel Chamblee, a retired player and now an analyst for Golf Channel, declared that McIlroy would “regret those words for the rest of his life.”
Don’t believe it. McIlroy was simply verbalizing what the actions of 17 golfers have suggested: that Olympic golf isn’t a priority for them. The exodus is about more than Zika. (Katie Taylor, an Australian boxer, accused her fellow countryman Jason Day and other golfers of using Zika as an excuse.) With more lucrative and personally-significant golf events to worry about, traveling to a country with a lot of logistical problems right now (beyond just Zika) isn’t so appealing.
Spieth, in his own press conference at Royal Troon, specifically asked reporters not to write that Zika was his reason for withdrawing. (“I didn’t cite that… please don’t do that for me. It’s health concerns as a whole. That’s not the only one.”) It was another sign that whether it was a hard decision for some or an easy one for others, the virus is hardly the only reason so many are skipping it.
The Olympics in Rio are still a few weeks away, but expect the golfer exodus to continue to be a hot topic at the Open this week and weekend, especially after McIlroy’s comments.
Brexit impact on European golf
The Olympic exodus has become something of a political issue, since a few golfers have been accused of a lack of patriotism for not attending. But a much larger political news story will have an impact on golf as well: Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.
Brexit will have two immediate effects on golf in Europe. The first one will play out in a matter of days: The British Open pays out its prize purses in British pounds. In the past 30 days, the pound has dropped by 7%, which means the golfer who wins big will get hurt on the conversion and earn less money than in the past. Last year, Zach Johnson earned 1.15 million pounds for winning, which was about $1.8 million USD at the time; right now, it’s just $1.51 million.
The second effect is on the Ryder Cup, which some call the Olympics of golf. It’s a biennial (every two years) tournament in which a Europe golf team faces off against an America team. In the wake of a Brexit—if it does happen—any British golfers would no longer be European, technically speaking. The PGA European Tour, which runs the Ryder Cup in partnership with the PGA of America, put out a statement after the Brexit vote to clarify that the Europe team will still include Britons, choosing to define the term European “as a geographical one, not a political or economic one.” At best, that’s going to be awkward; British players like Justin Rose and Danny Willett will play for a European team and wear an EU flag (though when the Ryder Cup first began, it originally drew players from Great Britain and Ireland before expanding to include Europe.) At worst, the European Tour may relocate its Surrey, England headquarters.
With #Brexit and the way the US presidential race is going…. Can we take a mulligan on 2016??
— Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory) June 24, 2016
This Brexit vote and potential impact on golf is front of mind this week as golf’s attention turns to a tournament in Scotland.
Adidas hot-streak on the course
Last year’s British Open winner was Zach Johnson, but this year, bookmaker odds list Jason Day and Dustin Johnson as co-favorites. Both of them are sponsored by TaylorMade-Adidas. Day has won three PGA Tour events in 2016, more than any other golfer. Last year, he won his first Major, the PGA Championship. Johnson just won this year’s U.S. Open, his first Major. If that isn’t enough success on the course, Sergio Garcia won the AT&T Byron Nelson tournament in a thrilling playoff. Adidas is on an ironic hot-streak in the sport.
Why ironic? Because those three golfers are all sponsored by TaylorMade, the club-maker Adidas bought in 1997 and is now desperately looking to sell off. If and when it does get rid of TaylorMade, which has been an albatross on its balance sheet, those three stars will still be Adidas-sponsored, but it’s unclear whose clubs they’ll use, and if their contracts are expiring soon you might see some of them walk. For now, Adidas is enjoying the buzz it gets from win after win.
Sure, a sports apparel company can’t control how its athletes play—though it might like to argue its gear can aid performance—but having its athletes do well brings immeasurable brand exposure and goodwill from fans. If Day, Johnson, or Garcia triumphs at the Open, Adidas extends its recent run of good golf fortune.
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Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering sports business and technology. Follow him on Twitter at @readDanwrite.
Read more:
Golfers opting out of Rio is about more than Zika
Adidas is on an ironic hot streak in golf
