The day has come when golf starts in Tokyo and I get the performance of two of the best national athletes today: Joaquín Niemann and Guillermo Pereira. Members of the PGA Tour arrive in Japan with full confidence and enthusiasm. They have been playing incredible and they know they have a real chance of getting into the fight. But are not the only ones. Everyone has a stake in the land of the rising sun. Whether it’s putting your name back at the top of golf or even avoiding military service.
In the case of Joaco and Mito, the goal is to continue revolutionizing national golf. Their silhouettes represent the best moment of sport in the country, and it is that before them there were never two Chileans in the PGA. Joaquín is the one who leads this golden generation. With a title and several top ten in high-level tournaments, the Talagantino is a face that will receive a lot of attention in Tokyo.
Not for nothing will it appear in one of the most attractive groups of the day, accompanied by Justin Thomas and Paul Casey. The first one of the references of the last decade, with achievements such as having been number one in the world, and have won the FedEX Cup and the PGA Championship. The second is a British man who has been professional for 21 years, reaching his peak in 2009 when he was third in the world ranking.
Myth for his part shares a group with two Europeans. One of them, the Italian Renato Paratore, winner of two tournaments on the European Tour and winner of the Gold medal at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games. The other, a PGA Tour seasoned, the Slovenian Rory Sabbatini who has eight victories on the most important golf tour in the world.
One of the stories that has called the most in this edition of the Games is the dilemma faced by Korean golfers, Si Woo Kim and Sungjae Im. Both are required to perform military service in their country, which would cause a major break in their careers.
The only way to avoid it is with a medal at Tokyo 2020. A case similar to that of Tottenham Spurs player Heung Min Son, when last year he had to win the Asian Cup to avoid going to the toilet.
The two-year hiatus into which Korean athletes going to military training are forced is usually fatal to their careers. Examples of this are Sang Moon Bae and Seung Yul Noh, who since they joined the ranks of their country, have not been able to reinsert themselves to the first level of golf. In fact Bae was 26th in the world before traveling to service. Today it is over 800 °.
A situation that if it occurred would be shocking for the circuit. Both Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim rank high in the rankings, 26 ° and 50 ° respectively. Although the latter is that he has managed to be more successful in tournaments, including among his achievements having won The Players in 2017. The outlook is so extreme that both decided to get off the British Open, which was held a few weeks ago, to train exclusively for the Games.
A totally different situation for those who travel to Tokyo for the sole purpose of being champions. The pressure is different, but the prize is the same. Hang the Gold and stay forever in the history of one of the most traditional sports in the world.
And even though Tokyo was left without Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau because of Covid-19, the number of candidates is still extensive. In addition to the aforementioned Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Christiaan Bezuidenhout y Collin Morikawa are some of the strong names in the tournament. One where there is a character that excites the entire host country: Hideki Matsuyama.
The Japanese reaches “his” Games in the best season of his career and with the memory of his victory at Augusta, still fresh. Taking over the green jacket put Hideki in an unearthly plane in Japan. The first man in that country to build a big one wants to bathe in Gold at home. Something that you will have to fight tooth and nail for. Against the experienced, the service rebels and the Chileans.
