Thomas Pieters had zero hesitation. An Illinois alumnus representing Belgium in golf’s return to the Olympics, Pieters did not even consider passing on a trip Rio.
“No. Why would I?” he asked.
Well, other golfers did.
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“I know,” he told the Tribune, “but that’s BS in my eyes. I haven’t seen any player who isn’t enjoying this. The word will get out, and the next Olympics will have a lot more guys.”
Pieters, 24, woke up Thursday to a text message from his mother saying: It must be great knowing you will be making your Olympics debut.
“That touched me,” he said.
Nervous on the first tee, he sprayed one a bit right. No serious harm done, though, on this links-style track.
“Brilliant,” Pieters said of the generosity off the tee.
So was his 4-under 67, which had him tied for third in the late afternoon.
Pieters has won twice on the European Tour and won big in college, joining Scott Langley in 2012 as the only Illini to win the NCAA individual championship. As the world’s 66th-ranked player, he entered the Olympics as the 22nd-rated player in the 60-man field.
His Rio highlights have included watching Belgium’s field hockey team upset Australia – he simply calls the sport “hockey” – and staying in the Olympic Village.
“If you don’t stay in the Village, you are missing out on a lot,” he said. “It’s inspiring. You respect every athlete; they’ve worked their whole life to get there. And it’s fun to see really good golfers sit at a table, and no one recognizes them. We might think we’re really good athletes, but everybody eats the same stuff and sits at the same table. That’s what I think is so brilliant about this.”
Twitter @TeddyGreenstein