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Tour Pro Makes Controversial Statement Around Golf Tournament at Olympics; Says Only Amateurs Should Compete

Published 07/31/2021, 11:45 AM EDT

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via Reuters

The men’s golf competition at Tokyo Olympics 2020 is currently underway. But there is a bit of debate going around whether professionals should be teeing it up at the Olympics, or if it should only be the amateurs. 

However, one tour pro believes that top amateurs should get the chance to represent their country at the Olympics. And that player is none other than Jonathan Thomson, the man who made a hole-in-one at the Open Championship. 

“It should be top amateurs who compete for their nation,” says Thomson

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“It sounds controversial, but I am not sure it should be professionals that go, I think it should be the top amateurs who compete for their nation,” said Thomson. “Being in the Olympics would be a pinnacle of an amateur’s career–whereas I think as a leading golf pro, you want to be winning a major championship rather than a gold medal.” 

Despite his view about the Olympics, the 25-year-old Thomson said that he would definitely love to represent his country if he gets an opportunity. “Golf definitely does deserve a place at the Olympics, and if I ever got a chance, I would be going because it’s an extremely cool thing to put on your career bucket list.”

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Players in contention at the men’s golf competition at Tokyo Olympics 2020

Jonathan Thomson was also asked about who does he think is the favorite to win a medal. “It’s a tough one, but I wish Paul Casey and Tommy Fleetwood all the best–they have a good chance for a medal.”

USA Today via Reuters

Currently, Paul Casey is just two strokes behind the leader Xander Schauffele, while another Britisher, Tommy Fleetwood, is at -10 and is four strokes behind the lead. So going into the final round on Sunday, there are plenty of players in contention. And each one of them will aim for a podium finish. However, no single player has a clear-cut advantage for the last 18 holes. Hence we can expect a cliffhanger of a game on Sunday.    

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Amey Kulkarni

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Amey Kulkarni is a Golf writer at EssentiallySports. He is currently pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in mass media. Before joining EssentiallySports he used to write articles on Golf and Cricket on his personal blog cricgolf.
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