Stories of interest you might have missed…
This Washington Post story by Dom Phillips is headlined: "In Brazil, unrest is simmering again, over bus fares, Olympic golf and Nazi cops." The story chronicles unrest in Brazil, including issues with the Olympic golf course under construction. A group of demonstrators that calls itself Occupy Golf "said the golf course is damaging wildlife and was unnecessary because Rio already has two golf courses."
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George H.W. Bush is renowned for how quickly he played golf. Son Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida and likely presidential candidate, follows suit, according to this story by Douglas Hanks of the Miami Herald. "Golf would not be dying if more people played the way we play out here,' Bush said after a recent round in Coral Gables that lasted about 2 1/2 hours, including a 19th hole to settle a tied score. It's not that hard to do, to be honest with you.'"
Lee Westwood has cast his lot with the BBC over Sky Sports for retaining the rights to telecast the British Open. "[F]rom a golfing perspective and reaching the widest possible audience and all that it would be very disappointing [if Sky secured the broadcast rights]," Westwood said in this story by James Corrigan of the Telegraph. "Yes, the true golf fans would always find a way to watch the Open. But what I'd be very concerned about is that with the participation levels falling it certainly wouldn't encourage people who would not ordinarily take up the game to have a go."
Scotland's Catriona Matthews, 45, has some interesting observations about the LPGA in this story by John Huggan of the Scotsman. "The women's game is going the same way as the men's in that distance off the tee is becoming more and more important," she said. "Look at the size of them. There are so many players who are six feet tall…The standard is so much higher, especially at the top level. But everyone on tour is better. When I turned pro, maybe 30 per cent of the field had a realistic chance of winning. Now it is 80 per cent. So almost anyone can win."
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