Golf's First Pictogram Unveiled for 2016 Olympics

For the first time in Olympic history, each of the 41 Olympic and 23 Paralympic sports will be represented by a pictogram. These images first appeared in the 1948 London Olympics and primarily serve to represent each individual sport, so that the use of language is not needed given the fact the Olympics is a global event.

Yesterday, the pictograms for the 2016 Rio Olympics were unveiled. With golf making its first Olympic appearance since 1904, this is the game’s first Olympic pictogram.

1,000 Days Until Golf Returns to Olympics

The 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro begin in 1,000 days (as of Saturday), and although it’s two-plus years away, we thought it’d be worthwhile to take a peek at what the field would look like if the tournament began today.

Sixty men and 60 women will compete in 72 holes of individual stroke play. The Official World Golf Ranking for men and the Rolex Rankingsfor women will help create the Olympic Golf Rankings, which will be used to determine eligibility.

The current proposal from the International Golf Federation is that the top 15 ranked players in the world will be eligible, with a limit of four players from a given country allowed to participate. Beyond the top 15, players will be eligible based on the rankings, with a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top 15.

However, qualifications still have not been finalized and the cut-off date has not yet been determined. Dates for the golf competition have not been set but the Opening Ceremony for the Games is Aug. 5, 2016.

Still, here’s a look at what the respective fields would look like now, based on current world rankings in parentheses.

MEN

Argentina: Angel Cabrera (56), Andres Romero (196)

Australia: Adam Scott (2), Jason Day (20)

Austria: Bernd Wiesberger (54)

Bangladesh: Siddikur Rahman (247)

Belgium: Nicolas Colsaerts (58)

Brazil: Adilson da Silva (253), Alexandre Rocha (402)

Canada: Graham DeLaet (32), David Hearn (137)

Chile: Felipe Aguilar (156), Mark Tullo (376)

China: Wen-Chong Liang (132), Ashun Wu (223)

Colombia: Camilo Villegas (262)

Denmark: Thomas Bjorn (46), Thorbjorn Olesen (55)

Fiji: Vijay Singh (140)

Finland: Mikko Ilonen (81), Roope Kakko (214)

France: Victor Dubuisson (108), Gregory Bourdy (113)

Germany: Martin Kaymer (34), Marcel Siem (78)

India: Shiv Kapur (142), Anirban Lahiri (154)

Italy: Matteo Manassero (35), Francesco Molinari (37)

Japan: Hideki Matsuyama (29), Koumei Oda (90)

Netherlands: Joost Luiten (61), Daan Huizing (204)

New Zealand: Michael Hendry (211), Danny Lee (328)

Norway: Espen Kofstad (310)

Philippines: Juvan Pagunsan (252), Angelo Que (306)

Portugal: Ricardo Santos (206), Jose-Filipe Lima (213)

South Africa: Charl Schwartzel (21), Ernie Els (24)

South Korea: Sung-Joon Park (96), Hyung-Sung Kim (105)

Spain: Sergio Garcia (18), Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (33)

Sweden: Henrik Stenson (3), Jonas Blixt (39)

Thailand: Thongchai Jaidee (49), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (65)

United States: Tiger Woods (1), Phil Mickelson (4), Steve Stricker (7), Matt Kuchar (8)

Zimbabwe: Brendon de Jonge (70)

Note: If Rory McIlroy (6) and Graeme McDowell (11) play for Great Britain they would team with Justin Rose (5), leaving Shane Lowry (72) and Padraig Harrington (111) to play for Ireland. If McIlroy and McDowell play for Ireland they would be the only two to qualify, leaving Luke Donald (16) to join Rose on the Great Britain team.

WOMEN

Argentina: Victoria Tanco (543)

Australia: Karrie Webb (8), Katherine Hull-Kirk (98)

Canada: Rebecca Lee-Bentham (208), Alena Sharp (252)

Chile: Paz Echeverria (472)

China: Shanshan Feng (7), Xi Yu Lin (204)

Chinese Taipei: Yani Tseng (26), Teresa Lu (65)

Colombia: Mariajo Uribe (110), Paola Moreno (194)

Czech Republic: Klara Spilkova (263)

Denmark: Line Vedel Hansen (173), Malene Jorgensen (251)

Finland: Minea Blomqvist (244), Ursula Wikstrom (353)

France: Karine Icher (23), Gwladys Nocera (79)

Germany: Sandra Gal (50), Caroline Masson (52)

Great Britain: Catriona Matthew (10), Jodi Ewart Shadoff (47)

Ireland: Alison Walshe (100), Rebecca Codd (474)

Italy: Giulia Sergas (70), Diana Luna (146)

Japan: Ai Miyazato (15), Mika Miyazato (21)

Malaysia: Jean Chua (559)

Mexico: Alejandra Llaneza (405)

Morocco: Maha Haddioui (555)

Netherlands: Dewi Claire Schreefel (118), Christel Boeljon (126)

New Zealand: Lydia Ko (5), Kim Dana (111)

Norway: Suzann Pettersen (2), Marianne Skarpnord (276)

Paraguay: Julieta Granada (96)

Philippines: Jennifer Rosales (132)

Russia: Maria Balikoeva (413)

South Africa: Lee-Anne Pace (49), Ashleigh Simon (164)

South Korea: Inbee Park (1), So Yeon Ryu (4), Na Yeon Choi (6), I.K. Kim (9)

Spain: Beatriz Recari (19), Azahara Munoz (31)

Sweden: Caroline Hedwall (22), Anna Nordqvist (24)

Switzerland: Anais Maggetti (442), Daniela Holmqvist (452)

Thailand: Ariya Jutanugarn (29), Pornanong Phatlum (59)

United States: Stacy Lewis (3), Paula Creamer (11), Cristie Kerr (12), Lexi Thompson (14)

Venezuela: Veronica Felibert (289)

Dubuisson Leads by 5 in Turkey; Woods 6 Back

ANTALAYA, Turkey – Victor Dubuisson of France opened up a five-shot lead after the third round at the Turkish Airlines Open on Saturday, while Tiger Woods kept himself in the mix despite three bogeys on the back nine.

Dubuisson opened with four straight birdies and added five more in a bogey-free 9-under 63. He moved to 21-under 195 to distance himself from the field. Ian Poulter was alone in second after a 68, while Woods and Henrik Stensson (69) were among four players sitting another shot back.

Woods had an eventful round and hurt his right hand when his club hit a tree on the 11th hole, but he seemed to escape without a serious injury.

Woods made three birdies on the front nine, then mixed three more birdies with three bogeys in a six-hole stretch starting at the 11th. He finished with an improbable birdie on No. 18 for a 68.

''To birdie the last hole was a nice way to end, considering I struggled all day with my swing,'' Woods said. ''I was getting away with it on the front nine, but I wasn't really playing well and it caught up with me on the back nine.''

His drive on the par-5 11th landed well right of the fairway, and he hit a 3-wood that brushed the tree and immediately jumped into the air and began shaking his right hand. That shot landed in a greenside bunker, but he still went on to birdie the hole and didn't show any effects the rest of the round.

''My arm is a little tender. I smoked it on something. I don't know what I hit but I hit something hard,'' Woods said. ''I just dealt with it and just played through it. I won't need any treatment.''

Woods is looking for his first European Tour victory in four years but found just five of 14 fairways Saturday. But he needed only 24 putts in his round, one-putting the last four holes.

Dubuisson has yet to win on tour, with three third-place finishes as his best results.

''I will try not to think about tomorrow as it would put too much pressure on myself,'' he said. ''But I know Tiger and Henrik will shoot very low scores, so I have to keep the same strategy. I have a five-shot lead, but with all these great players, tomorrow will be a very tough day.''

Tiger Tracker: Turkish Airlines Open

Tiger Woods is competing this week in Antalya, Turkey for the Turkish Airlines Open. It's the third event in the European Tour's Final Series, which culminates with next week's Dubai World Championship. Tiger Tracker isn't in Turkey this week but will be keeping tabs on the world No. 1  for full Turkish Airlines Open coverage.

Woods Not Concerned With Lack of Sleep

Tiger Woods didn’t get much sleep before Friday’s second round of the Turkish Airlines Open, but it didn’t much matter as he blitzed the Montgomerie Maxx Royal golf course to get into contention to win his sixth title this year.

Despite getting up in the middle of the night to watch his beloved Stanford upset Oregon in a college football game, Woods looked fresh in the second round. He blitzed the course with nine birdies and no bogeys in a round of 9-under-par 63 to get within a shot of the lead.

“Unfortunately, I had to stay longer watching the game than I wanted to,” Woods told media after his round. “Kickoff was 3:30 a.m., but that was no problem as my body is still on Singapore time, but it was one of those games where it looked like we were going up 29-7 but the next thing you know, Oregon comes back at us, and I'm thinking `I have to go warm up for this tournament.’ So I'm saying, `Come on guys, can't you just run the clock out,' and they finally did.”

Woods is expecting a weekend shootout.

“I played a lot better and made some putts,” Woods said. “I missed some too, so it was a round that could have been really special but I'm right there.

“We're going to have to continue going low here given the way the course is set up. The greens are slow, the greens are soft and I expect guys to make a lot of birdies - it's so bunched up there. I've just got to go get it.”

Woods jumped from a tie for 52nd with his birdie blitz Friday.

Player: Woods Did Nothing Wrong at Augusta

One of the most-discussed golf shots of 2013,Tiger Woods’ approach to the 15th green during the second round of the Masters created a controversy that left a lasting impact on the season’s first major.
According to nine-time major winner Gary Player, though, Woods can’t be faulted for the fallout from his nearly-perfect shot and subsequent illegal drop.

“Tiger Woods did absolutely nothing wrong at Augusta,” Player explained in a video interview with Golf.com.

Though Woods went on to tie for fourth in his latest bid for a fifth green jacket, his week was largely defined by the second-round wedge approach that struck the pin and spun back into the water, followed by an incorrect drop that cost Woods an additional two strokes. According to Player, that shot changed the course of the entire event.

“If he hit a lousy shot, 30 feet from the hole, I think Tiger Woods would have won the Masters,” the South African noted. “That was basically a four-shot penalty.”

Though many fans and media alike speculated that Woods should possibly withdraw from the event as questions surrounded the drop and subsequent penalty, Player remains adamant that the 14-time major champ was correct to accept the two-shot penalty handed down by the rules committee the following day.

“He didn’t try to hide anything. There it was, that was the decision,” the 78-year-old said of Woods. “There’s nothing more to say. When a rules man gives you a ruling, that’s it. Amen.”

More than six months removed from the season’s first major, Player explained that he “felt very sorry” for Woods in the aftermath of his fateful shot off the flagstick.

“That was as bad a break as I’ve ever seen in golf,” he added.

Scott Takes Three-Shot Lead Into Aussie PGA Finale

GOLD COAST, Australia - Adam Scott shot an even-par 71 on Saturday at wind-swept Royal Pines to open a three-stroke lead in the Australian PGA.

The tournament is the first of four straight in Australia for Scott, playing at home for the first time since winning the Masters. He had a 10-under 203 total.

''I think it was a grind for everyone,'' Scott said. ''I didn't see too many good scores out there.''

American Rickie Fowler and Australian David McKenzie were tied for second. Fowler had a 71, and will play alongside Scott in the final twosome Sunday. McKenzie shot 72.

Scott bogeyed the par-4 seventh and eighth holes before making birdie on the par-5 12th and 15th holes.

''I just tried to play a little better on the back nine, and took advantage of the par-5s,'' he said. ''Later in the day when the wind picks up, it's a bit of a luck of the draw coming into the greens low and at slow speed.''

He said he thought he was fortunate to increase his lead based on the tough conditions.

''I've improved my spot just slightly,'' Scott said. ''I would have taken that score at this stage of the tournament.''

Fowler struggled to find the fairways, limiting his birdie chances.

''Tomorrow, I'd like to play on the fairways a little bit more,'' he said. ''I haven't been able to get the balls as close as I'd like.

''If the breeze stays up, it will be tough. The fairways aren't too generous. But I'm looking forward to play with Adam, he's a great guy and fun to play with.''

Australian Marc Leishman shot 68 and was in a group tied for sixth, five strokes behind.