Well, here’s one from the “This Is Really Crazy” department.
Rory Sabbatini has become fairly irrelevant on the PGA Tour although he did finish in the top 100 last season and remains fully exempt out there.
But Rory’s latest move has you wondering about his motivation with this.
The South African golfer has obtained Slovakian citizenship.
The Slovak Golf Association says it is sending proof of citizenship to the International Golf Federation, which would allow the 42-year-old Sabbatini to play under the Slovak flag. It also would make him eligible to play for the Eastern European country in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Sabbatini is No. 203 in the world ranking. The Olympics takes no more than two players from each country — four if they are among the top 15 — until the field size is at 60 players. Currently, the No. 60 player in the Olympic ranking is Daan Huizing, who is No. 340 in the world ranking.
“I believe that I will be successful for Slovak golf and will be a source of inspiration for Slovak youth,” Sabbatini said last Wednesday at the Consulate General of the Slovak Republic in New York.
Rastislav Antal, vice president of the Slovak Golf Association, said he was proud that Slovakia will have its first PGA Tour player. Sabbatini is fully exempt from finishing 97th in the FedEx Cup last year.
“We believe that Rory will be able to achieve successful results for Slovak golf and can raise the interest of our public and our children to become actively interested in golfing,” Antal said.
Seriously?
This just looks like a desperate move to try and get into the 2020 Olympic golf competition.
