Brazilian golfer Adilson da Silva to hit first Olympic tee shot since 1904
RIO DE JANEIRO — The last player to hit a golf ball in the Olympics did so in 1904. Adilson da Silva — in his home country, no less — will end that drought Thursday as golf returns to the Summer Games.
“Wow,” da Silva said when asked about hitting the first tee shot at the Olympic Golf Club at 7:30 a.m. local time. “It’s like having a hole in one and the feeling will sink in later. It’s quite a feeling. Very happy and honored for such a thing. Sometimes I think why do I deserve this?”
The Brazilian found out he was hitting the first tee shot Monday and has been thinking about it ever since. He’ll use his TaylorMade M2 driver and hope the weight of the moment doesn’t floor him.
“I hope I’ll be sleepy so I don’t feel the pressure so much,” da Silva, 44, said with a smile.
Da Silva, who grew up playing on a nine-hole golf course near his home in Santa Cruz do Sul in south Brazil and caddying to earn extra money, is the only one playing for Brazil. He now lives with his wife and son in South Africa.
He increased his playing schedule on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa and on the Asia Tour once qualifying started in hopes of making the team. He is ranked No. 288 in the world.
“I had to play more tournaments and travel more. I know there were two guys who were playing well so I had to add some tournaments in South Africa and Asia. Anything I could get into. So I kept going. I played more than I wanted to but I had to get the points up,” da Silva said. “ … There were a lot of sacrifices to play more, a lot of leaving my family behind. I have to thank my wife, as well, to put up with the nonsense of going away every second week.
“She was very understanding. But it is very rewarding to be here today. It’s an honor to represent Brazil.”
BEST IMAGES FROM AUG. 9 AT THE OLYMPICS