Qualification for the summer Olympics in Paris this year is well and truly underway with a host of Asian Tour members in contention. In the first of a series of articles in the run up to the XXXIII Olympiad, Asian Tour contributor Joy Chakravarty spoke to 10-time Asian Tour winner Scott Hend from Australia about his memories of Rio in 2016, and the allure of the Olympics.

At the age of 50, and in the shortage of Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points in events he is playing, Scott Hend realises that a second appearance in the Olympics is almost non-existent, but he takes as much pride in representing Australia and being a part of golf’s return at 2016 Rio Games, as any of his 16 international victories.

“That’s something that nobody can ever take away from you. You don’t have to be a medalist to be called an Olympian and it’s always nice to say to yourself that you are one,” said Hend, who showed he can still compete against the youngsters by finishing second last month in the 103rd New Zealand Open, presented by Sky Sport.

“I mean, it would have been great to win a gold, silver, or a bronze, but what I experienced as a competitor, as part of the team that included Marcus Fraser and Ian Baker Finch as our captain, and our caddies, it was one of my proudest career moments. Golf was returning to the Olympics, and we were part of history.”

Scott Hend. Picture by Scott Halleran/Getty Images.

Asked how much it would mean to him if he got a chance to play in another Olympics, Hend quipped: “Is there a senior Olympics?!

“But seriously, I haven’t played well enough to be in the team. In saying that, the way the World Ranking system is these days, it makes it very hard for someone who isn’t playing on the PGA Tour to be looked at for the Olympics.

“Forget about me, I’m not even sure who are the two guys that qualify for Australia. With my sensible boots on, I would think Cam Smith should be one of the guys because he is our best player. Of course, that may not happen because LIV Golf do not get world rankings.

“Both Jason (Day) and Min Woo Lee are playing great golf, but I would like Cam to be one of the players. He’s an amazing golfer and he is a great representative for Australia.”

Men’s Olympic golf is limited to a field of 60, with qualifications based on the OWGR. The top-15 players are automatically eligible, but the number is limited to a maximum of four golfers from a single country.

Thereafter, the Olympic Golf Rankings (OGR) come into play. It consists of a maximum of the top two eligible players per country.

Scott Hend. Picture by Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images.

The current OGR (as of April 1) is being led by world number one Scottie Scheffler from United States. Three other Americans Wyndham Clark, Xander Schauffele, and Patrick Cantlay, all ranked in the top-15 on the OWGR, are currently holding qualification places. Schauffele won the gold medal at Tokyo 2020.

Day and Lee are leading the way for Australia while there are a total of 13 Asian players from seven countries – China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Chinese Taipei – that are currently inside the qualification line.

Indians Gaganjeet Bhullar and Shubhankar Sharma, Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Phachara Kongwatmai and Malaysian Gavin Green are among the top-60.

The cut-off date for qualification is June 17, with the men’s event due to be played at Le Golf National in Guyancourt from August 1-4.

Hend insists the Olympics must be a goal for every young golfer to qualify for. It’s not just what happens inside the ropes that is incredible, but the whole atmosphere is electric and motivating.

“We golfers are lucky…we get rewarded every week for all the hard work that we put in. But for some of the athletes in the Olympics, that’s the only thing they are working towards for four years,” said Hend, who finished tied 39th in Rio.

“We had a house in Rio, and we’d go to the village, and we went into Australia House. We ate in the cafeteria with all the Olympians and went to the gym to check out how these people work out. We watched a basketball game. It was an amazing experience and something that every athlete and every fan must experience. Just to see how tough and how rewarding sports can be.”

Hend named sprinters Usain Bolt and Michael Johnson and swimmer Michael Phelps as his favourites, while decathlon was the one discipline he loves to watch.

Xander Schauffele after winning the gold medal at Tokyo 2020. Picture by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images.

“One Olympic moment I will never forget was when Ben Johnson won the gold with that record run in Seoul (1988), and then got disqualified because of using performance-enhancing drugs,” said Hend, going down memory lane.

“And that is why I have the greatest respect for what Bolt, Michael Johnson and Phelps achieved. These are just ridiculous disciplines when you think how hard they have to train to become the best in the world. What I really love, probably because of the disappointment with Ben Johnson, is that with all the drug testing they have these days, those guys did all that and were clean as well.

“Having said that, my favourite disciple to watch is decathlon, because they put themselves through absolute hell. They have to be all-round athletes, and it is fun to see them go through all those 10 different disciples and also try to plan and take advantage of what they are good at, like a big guy who’s good at javelin and trying his best to compete in the 1,500 meters.”

As for his own event, Hend said once he fell behind a bit at the halfway stage, all he did was fire at every pin.

“I just went for broke on the weekend, because, unlike our regular golf tournaments, only 1-2-3 matters in Olympics. Fraser had the course record going for a while and I remember walking with him and finish the round,” recalled Hend.

“My round fell apart when I hit a footprint on the 10th hole and continued to hit a couple of other footprints and ended up making a nine or a 10. It was that type of a golf course where you got a little bit offline, and you got punished badly.

“And yet, the honest truth is, I enjoyed every moment of wearing the Aussie colour and be a part of Rio 2016.”