RIO DE JANEIRO – And just like that, with a smooth 250-yard drive down the center of the fairway from Brazilian Adilson da Silva, golf returned to the Olympics Thursday after a 112-year hiatus.
The smallish, hometown crowd gathered on the first tee and greeted their man with a smattering of applause as he approached the first tee just before his 7:30 local tee time with playing partners Graham DaLaet (Canada) and Ben An (Korea).
Ten minutes later, da Silva made par on the opening par-5 hole at the Olympic Golf Course.
“Wow,” da Silva said on Tuesday after a practice round.