DJ Says No to 2021 Olympics

Genuine question. When Tiger was shooting 80 and ranked about 200th, why did nobody ever say a word about him being in two dozen commercials a day during tournaments? To me its because Rickie is an easy target. :)

But to answer your question lol....

It’s because tiger can do no wrong in some peoples eyes and people were more than happy to go along with the “it’s all the back injuries” narrative to preserve the idea that tiger is untouchable
 
I’ve been a very firm advocate that tiger blames all poor play on back issues when for a portion of time it was more due to more of a care for branding and not enough time actually playing golf. Now part of the reason he wasnt practicing was to avoid injuring his back before tournaments, but just because that wasn’t the public narrative doesn’t mean that some fans like me weren’t thinking it. Colt knost interviewed Rickie on his podcast and they were talking to his caddy and he said Rickie will stay for hours after tournaments to sign autographs and admitted that Rickie takes on more media responsibility than others. If that is so obvious than why haven’t they tried dialing back to see if that helps the game? I’ve listened to pods where Matt Wolff is talking about for big tournaments paying rickie to fly on his private jet. Rickie openly says he enjoys life other than golf so I don’t know why people seem to defend him like its a bad thing. All the power to him if he’s content with his life and career.

I think the defense is because of the subject. Players can win and do commercials. The two most dominant the sport has ever seen, were in more commercials than anybody. For some reason people think that these players have 50+ commitment days to their sponsors and that just isn't the case. Rickie has said that during his swing change, when Covid hit, he didnt work as hard as he should have. That is the underlying issue, not commercials. Nick Faldo, who is in 914 infomercials each Saturday, seems to think otherwise :ROFLMAO:

Signing autographs to fans after an event should be applauded and it saddens me that some athletes have turned their nose up to it.
 
I agree on the patriotism front and I root for the uniform the Olympics today are very different from the Olympics from the 70s particularly for a sport like golf or tennis that has a lot of money involved outside of the Olympics. I am way more interested in who wins the Masters or British Open than the Olympics.

The Olympics doesn't have even remotely the best field in golf given the way the qualification works with only 4 from each country. There will be many golfers left home that could easily win the event.

I totally agree with this. I love the Olympics but have a hard time thinking of golf as an Olympic sport. The weak field makes it less interesting for me to watch than a Major when many sports are the most interesting to watch when it's the Olympics.
 
This really shouldn't surprise anyone. I'm in the camp that golf shouldn't even be an Olympic sport. :eek::unsure: Trying to cram it in to the players already hectic schedule, traveling, etc. I wouldn't go either ;)
 
This really shouldn't surprise anyone. I'm in the camp that golf shouldn't even be an Olympic sport. :eek::unsure: Trying to cram it in to the players already hectic schedule, traveling, etc. I wouldn't go either ;)
I love that it is in the olympics.. I wish these guys didn’t make so much money the representing their county became intolerable.
 
I love that it is in the olympics.. I wish these guys didn’t make so much money the representing their county became intolerable.
that's the thing, it's not like DJ needs the money. So I'm sure he would play if it wasn't crammed in the schedule the way it is. :unsure:
 
As others have said, I'm sure DJ will not be the only golfer to opt out of the Olympics. A much bigger story will be when the U.S. boycotts the 2022 Winter Olympics that starts in less than 11 months.
 
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I think the defense is because of the subject. Players can win and do commercials. The two most dominant the sport has ever seen, were in more commercials than anybody. For some reason people think that these players have 50+ commitment days to their sponsors and that just isn't the case. Rickie has said that during his swing change, when Covid hit, he didnt work as hard as he should have. That is the underlying issue, not commercials. Nick Faldo, who is in 914 infomercials each Saturday, seems to think otherwise :ROFLMAO:

Signing autographs to fans after an event should be applauded and it saddens me that some athletes have turned their nose up to it.


I’ll chalk up the Faldo take to right message, incorrect messenger :ROFLMAO:


I completely agree with the autographs thing. I’m overjoyed that he does that. I really have nothing against Rickie I just feel like he stretches himself past the line of being completely focused on golf.

Players can win and do commercials. But that doesn’t mean EVERY player can handle all the commercials/outside responsibility. Especially because I think everyone can agree that Rickie is one most marketed players on tour. I know that this type of thing happens in golf where iconic golfers plummet in the rankings (Spieth, Tiger) but I think Spieth catches the same flack that Rickie catches so it’s not extra harsh. Rickie is now 81st in the world and id argue he has the most diverse sponsorship portfolio on tour. I’m not here to argue that the commercials are the sole issue in his game. Although If he didn’t work as hard as he should on a swing change during a time where there was all the time in the world that feels a lot like what I’m talking about in terms of not caring about the golf results and enjoying the other aspects of life and a golf career instead. Dude lives a fun lifestyle and he has to pay for that somehow. Why grind for a paycheck during the week when you can get a guaranteed check from endorsements. That’s my perspective. I’m sure as time goes on I’ll be proven right or wrong lol.
 
that's the thing, it's not like DJ needs the money. So I'm sure he would play if it wasn't crammed in the schedule the way it is. :unsure:

Didn't DJ go play in Saudi Arabia, then come back and play Riviera in CA and then the Concession in FL all in the span of 4 weeks? Travel issues?
 
I totally get it, without an internal pursuit for wanting to compete in the olympics for your country, I don't know why some of these athletes, who make millions elsewhere would put themselves through it.

I would, but I totally get why they wouldn't.
 
Didn't DJ go play in Saudi Arabia, then come back and play Riviera in CA and then the Concession in FL all in the span of 4 weeks? Travel issues?
yeah & his game suffered for it when he returned. I believe he is taking the travel into consideration now. Well at least he should anyway :unsure:
 
I’ll chalk up the Faldo take to right message, incorrect messenger :ROFLMAO:


I completely agree with the autographs thing. I’m overjoyed that he does that. I really have nothing against Rickie I just feel like he stretches himself past the line of being completely focused on golf.

Players can win and do commercials. But that doesn’t mean EVERY player can handle all the commercials/outside responsibility. Especially because I think everyone can agree that Rickie is one most marketed players on tour. I know that this type of thing happens in golf where iconic golfers plummet in the rankings (Spieth, Tiger) but I think Spieth catches the same flack that Rickie catches so it’s not extra harsh. Rickie is now 81st in the world and id argue he has the most diverse sponsorship portfolio on tour. I’m not here to argue that the commercials are the sole issue in his game. Although If he didn’t work as hard as he should on a swing change during a time where there was all the time in the world that feels a lot like what I’m talking about in terms of not caring about the golf results and enjoying the other aspects of life and a golf career instead. Dude lives a fun lifestyle and he has to pay for that somehow. Why grind for a paycheck during the week when you can get a guaranteed check from endorsements. That’s my perspective. I’m sure as time goes on I’ll be proven right or wrong lol.

What if you learned that Rickie filmed every single one of his commercials over a 7 day window?
That goes back to my general idea (not speaking about any specific player) that because someone is seen in a commercial does not mean months were used to get there.
 
Although the DJ news is disappointing, I still think Bryson, Berger, JT, Morikawa, Schauffle and Reed will all consider pretty heavy. I think it will be dicey with the tail end of covid still lingering.
 
What if you learned that Rickie filmed every single one of his commercials over a 7 day window?
That goes back to my general idea (not speaking about any specific player) that because someone is seen in a commercial does not mean months were used to get there.
I don't know how accurate it is, but I read that Rickie's sponsor obligations take up 25-30 days a year. On average that's less than 3 days per month, it's not like that puts a huge dent in his practice/prep time.
 
As for DJ, I can't say I'm surprised. He doesn't seem like he has much enthusiasm about much of anything, and if the Olympics don't sufficiently pad his wallet it's just one more thing he's not very enthusiastic about.
 
I don't know how accurate it is, but I read that Rickie's sponsor obligations take up 25-30 days a year. On average that's less than 3 days per month, it's not like that puts a huge dent in his practice/prep time.

That is pretty accurate, although probably includes some pro-am days in there. Its on the lower end of that number last I learned.
I will use a really good example. ABC player that is a really big name signed a golf ball deal for a lot of money. He is in a lot of commercials for this company. In fact 2-3 nearly every tournament. Yet his contract is for 2 appearance days. They just happen to use both for commercial and ad shoots.
 
What if you learned that Rickie filmed every single one of his commercials over a 7 day window?
That goes back to my general idea (not speaking about any specific player) that because someone is seen in a commercial does not mean months were used to get there.

if that were truly the case, which I’m sure is the case in some sponsorship deals, then I would have to abandon the take. However with the volume of different sponsors there are I bet it’s tough to get it to work out like that.

All I know is I would love for Rickie to come out and at least top 10 at a major this year.

Here is a friendly wager. My bum butt is now 0-2 in THP Experience matches. If I’m selected for a THP experience and win a THP match before Rickie top tens at a major again, he has to come on the Off the Course Pod with @Canadan and publicly commit to a 1 year commercial hiatus. I’ll even pay for a snippet of Faldo to give him unwanted advice on the cameo app so we can gauge his reaction lol.
 
Meh. Given the $ difference, and how slim chances are to win, I'd probably not do it either.
 
This is the attitude I have. I think someone who wants to be there and is more patriotic will be more competitive. It means more to them.

I’d rather he not go, than to show up and basically just mail it in because he really doesn’t want to be there.


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Not surprised to see DJ not choose to go. Sad that given the opportunity, that he wouldn't want to represent his country in the Olympics.

Wish he'd reconsider but understand he's probably making a business decision here...
 
For a golfer the Olympics aren't the pinnacle. They are probably an interesting event but unless you love the Olympics in general not the peak of golf. I totally understand if you are focused on winning majors that the Olympics might be a distraction. It wouldn't be my position but I have loved the Olympics since I was a little kid.

And THIS Is why the Olympics should be open to Amateur athletes only... for any sport.
 
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