Graham DeLaet represented Canada well at the Olympics in Rio, as he finished in 20th place at four under par, and fellow Canadian David Hearn finished in 30th place at one under par.
He started very well, shooting a five-under-par 66 in the first round. He went on to shoot 71 on day two, 74 on day three, and finished with a 69 for an overall stroke total of 280.
Great Britain’s Justin Rose won the gold medal at 16 under par. Sweden’s Henrik Stenson won silver, while Matt Kuchar of the U.S. took the bronze.
DeLaet found he would be without his usual caddy, as he lost his usual bagman, newly married Jules Trudeau, before the Games, so he made the unusual decision to draft in a hockey player as replacement.
DeLaet subsequently turned to his neighbour Ray Whitney to carry his bags, a recently retired veteran of the National Hockey League and 2006 Stanley Cup winner, and whose career spanned 17 years.
Whitney is a scratch golfer, the lowest handicap, and so knows how to play the game. He also knows what it means to play for his country as he represented Canada at four world ice hockey championships, though on each of those four occasions he returned home without a medal.
“I was captain of Team Canada in Germany in 2010,” Whitney said. “I’ve been there (in medal contention), been a part of all that.” In his hockey career, he scored 385 goals and 1,064 points in 1,330 career games in the NHL.
“It was great, they (top golfers) walk quicker, you’ve got to keep up, clean clubs, get the next one out,” said Whitney. “It was smoother than I thought it was going to be. You get a little nervous thinking about all the things you have to do.”
Whitney has previously caddied for women’s seven-time major winner Juli Inkster and he follows in the footsteps of fellow NHL retiree Dan Quinn, who has periodically been bagman for Ernie Els.
Golf has been on the Olympic program twice: in 1900 and 1904. At the 1900 Games in Paris, two events were staged, one for men and one for women. Americans Margaret Ives Abbott and Charles Edward Sands were the first Olympic champions in the two events. In 1904 in St. Louis, the women’s event was replaced by a team event.
At the 121st IOC Session, held in October 2009 in Copenhagen, the IOC members voted in favour of re-introducing golf to the Olympic program. The Olympic tournament used the “stroke play” format for both the men and women.
With his Olympic experience finished, DeLaet will resume play in the PGA at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina, from Aug. 18 to 21.
