It was Avery Brundage, the former president of the International Olympic Committee, who insisted that sport must be amateur, that if played professionally it is instead mere entertainment. To be fair, it was one of the less loathsome viewpoints Brundage held, but over time support for his sentiment has dissolved, not least in the Olympic movement itself. The notion that a sport is sullied when played for pay won’t garner much support these days even in the tweediest corners of the USGA and R&A, yet there remains a debate within golf over that gray area dividing worthy competition from trivial entertainment.
This week—at least in the United States—golf tilts toward the latter. The QBE Shootout, for example, an event formerly associated with a man who could rival Brundage in his disregard for the human suffering happening under those who line his pockets. Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson are in the field this year, continuing a sporadic tradition of women competing alongside men in the team event. The 2024 Shootout will feature more mixed teams, a nod to the old J.C. Penney Classic and not its own roots as a tool for marketing Greg Norman’s machismo.
