Tokyo 2020 Olympic golf tournament MUST MOVE venue, claims politician!

Japanese politician tells Reuters the 2020 Olympic golf tournament will need to move location. 

Andy Roberts's picture
Thu, 31 Oct 2019
Tokyo 2020 Olympic golf tournament MUST MOVE venue, claims politician!

Golf's Olympic tournament at the 2020 Tokyo Games will need to move location due to the extremely hot weather, according to Japanese politician Shiegefumi Matsuzawa in an article published by Reuters

The report claims Matsuzawa, a member of Japan's House of Councillors, has now written to International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach to express his worries at the world's best male and female golfers competing in the expected stifling heat at Kasumigaseki Country Club at the end of July and start of August. 

As a result of the Japanese politician's warning, the IOC is already looking at the possibility of moving next year's marathon and walking race events to the slightly cooler northern ireland of Hokkaido.

"The issue of measures against extremely hot weather is an especially serious problem," Matsuzawa wrote in an October 25 letter obtained by Reuters.

"In 2017, a research team from Tokyo Metropolitan University published a paper ... with observation results indicating that Kawagoe City in Saitama Prefecture, where Kasumigaseki is located, is the hottest place in Japan.

"The period between late July and early August is the hottest period in Japan’s summer, and so it is no exaggeration to say that forcibly holding an outdoor sporting event in the hottest region of Japan at this time is extremely irresponsible."

Tiger Woods last week revealed his desire to play his way into the United States Olympic golf team in 2020, having missed out in Rio in 2016. 

Woods got that plan off the perfect start when clinching his 82nd PGA Tour title at the ZOZO Championship in Japan, a victory that tied Sam Snead's all-time record for PGA Tour wins. 

The 43-year-old is now up to World No.6, and as things stand, would be eligible to compete in the US side.