The emerging American golfer Collin Morikawa, in the land of his ancestors, and the Japanese Hideki Matsuyama, the local star, will be the headliners of golf at the Tokyo Olympics in the absence of great stars like the Spanish Jon Rahm.
The dreaded COVID-19 pandemic, which prompted Japan to close the doors to nearly all Olympic competitions, shattered golf forecasts within days of the tee shot at the monumental 7,447-yard (6,800-meter) Kasumigaseki Country Club. .
With a few hours apart from Saturday, the American Bryson DeChambeau, sixth in the world ranking, and Jon Rahm, again number one thanks to his recent victory at the United States Open, had to resign from the Games after both testing positive for coronavirus .
Rahm, who already tested positive in June when he was leading the Memorial Tournament of the PGA circuit, has not met one of the great goals of his career, fighting for a medal for Spain.
The loss of the Basque golfer is a huge blow for the Spanish team, an orphan of big names in the face of the already announced loss of Sergio García, winner of the 2017 Augusta Masters.
In one fell swoop, Tokyo-2020 lost two of its most serious gold medal contenders while other big-name players, such as Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen, had previously dropped out of the competition.
In this context, a couple of players stand out from the rest, not only because of their undeniable talent and recent achievements, but also because of their direct or indirect relationship with Japan, a country passionate about golf.
– Local idol –
Collin Morikawa, world number three at 24, is the new star on the greens. Last year he revealed himself to the world by winning the PGA Championship in San Francisco and now he has just won a second ‘Major’, the British Open.
Both triumphs came in his first appearances in these tournaments. In Japan, the country of his family, the Californian will debut in the Olympic Games but under the American flag, competing against members of his team such as Justin Thomas (world number 4), Xander Schauffele (5th) and Patrick Reed (12th).
Hideki Matsuyama, for his part, is not so high in the world rankings (20th) `but, at 29, he is a hero in his country since his unexpected victory at the Augusta Masters in April, when he became the first Japanese in history to triumph in a Grand Slam tournament.
– Latin Americans on the prowl –
Another absence, this one already expected for months, is that of Tiger Woods, who is still in rehabilitation from his serious leg injuries suffered in the February car accident.
The “Tigre” will have to follow from a distance a tournament that, in any case, he was not guaranteed to enter, since he needed to get among the top four classified in the United States in the ranking.
The Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy, former world number one and winner of four Grand Slams, and the young Norwegian Viktor Hovland also emerge as strong candidates to take advantage of this golden opportunity.
Latin America also does not renounce to surprise with a handful of young and ambitious players such as the Mexican Carlos Ortiz and Abraham Ancer, the Colombian Sebastián Muñoz and the Chilean Joaquín Niemann.
The Santiago golfer, number 26 in the world ranking, has been very close to the trophies this year with two second places at the Sony Open in Hawaii and the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
Earlier this month he was on the verge of winning his second PGA circuit title by falling in the playoff at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit Michigan.
Niemann debuted his record in 2020 at the Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, becoming the third non-US golfer to achieve a PGA triumph under 21 years of age, after McIlroy and Spaniard Severiano Ballesteros.
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