Rio 2016: For Adilson da Silva golf’s return is a dream come true

Some people will tell you that 112 years is too long for golf to be left out of the Olympics. Others will tell you it’s not long enough. Take your pick.

What is certain is that for Adilson da Silva, the timing of golf's return to these Olympics is sweet perfection and helps justify the original aim of growing the international appeal of the game (even if Rory McIlroy might disagree).

Because now the Brazilian native, who first learned to play the game as an 11-year-old with the branch of a tree, will be first man to swing a club in the Olympics since the gold medal match in St Louis, Missouri, back in 1904.

Given he is from the host nation, plus these also being the first Olympics staged in South America, de Silva has been chosen to hit the first tee shot – at 7.30am local time Thursday – when the 60-man field begin the four-day 72-hole tournament at the newly-built Rio Olympic Golf Course inside the Marapendi Natural Reserve.

Not only that, de Silva will also be reunited with old friend Andrew Edmondson, who has played a driving role in Silva's dreamlike golf career for over 30 years, and will now caddie for him over the next four days

Special times

“One of the most special times in my life,” said de Silva, speaking this week ahead of his return home for the competition: the 44 year-old now lives in Durban in South Africa with his wife and son. He moved continents on the advice of Edmondson, a native of Zimbabwe, who first nurtured da Silva’s interest and talent for golf while working as a tobacco buyer in Brazil in the 1980s.

Their unlikely alliance began on a nine-hole course in Santa Cruz do Sol, about a two-hour flight south of Rio, when the then 11-year-old de Silva discovered golf as a handy way to earn a little pocket money: he would collect the lost golf balls around the course, along with his brother, then sell them back to the course members for a nominal fee.

That also sparked his interest in the game, the only problem being the utterly prohibitive expense of the clubs.

So de Silva would break branches off a tree and cut them down to various sizes until they resembled golf clubs.

Around the same time Edmondson would play at Santa Cruz do Sol during his long stints in Brazil, and, to cut a long story slightly short, he first hired da Silva as a caddie, and later invited him to Zimbabwe to join their junior golf programme. The rest is Olympic golfing history.

“One day he said, ‘look, do you want to give it a go?’ Because maybe he thought there was some potential there. But I was very fortunate.”

Indeed he was given the near complete absence of any proper golfing programme in Brazil.

He was first coached by Tim Price, brother of Zimbabwean professional Nick, before turning pro himself in 1994, aged 22. He has since qualified for the British Open three time, and has four career victories, his best year coming in 2013 when he won the Zambia Open and Sun City Challenge.

As the host nation Brazil was guaranteed at least one player for Rio, but da Silva still had to earn the spot: that meant travelling across Asia, playing seven times in eight weeks early in the year, before securing his spot in Rio.

Then this week came the news that he had been chosen to hit the first tee shot – and, incredibly, in that reversal of the original role, with Edmondson as his caddie.

Hole in one

“They came up to me and said, ‘you’ll be the first one to tee off.’ I was like ‘Woooo!’ What an honour. It’s like having a hole in one and the feeling will sink in later.”

He may not be a medal favourite but he is certainly in good company – including our own Pádraig Harrington and Séamus Power, both of whom are equally excited to be in Rio.

Harrington, who will be playing with Italian Matteo Manassero and New Zealand’s Danny Lee for the first two rounds, has made no secret of his desire to challenge for the first Olympic title in 112 years.

“It might be sacrilege in the golfing world,” said the Dubliner, “but I think an Olympic medal would add more to my career at this moment than a fourth major.

“An Olympic gold medal would be massive and very unique in the game. As it gets closer, I’m kind of getting more excited. I’ve always been geed up for it, excited about it, but as it gets closer I’m thinking ‘wow, this is great’.”

Even if McIlroy might disagree.