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TSN Senior Reporter

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Jordan Spieth is all-in on the Olympics. 

Adam Scott, not so much. 

When golf makes its return to the Olympic family next August in Rio, the participants will encompass a wide swath of intensity and emotion. 

As most of us who chase the little white ball around already know, golf will be played at the Olympic Games next summer for the first time since 1904 when the great George S. Lyon won the gold medal for Canada. The medal was lost over time, but the trophy he also won for that title is still on display at the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum. 

This week, Spieth let it be known that he believes the Olympics are close in stature to golf's big four. 

"Winning a gold medal has got to be up there now in my mind with winning a major championship," Spieth told reporters at the Australian Open earlier this week. "I think this year we're going to approach it as a fifth major, and we're going to prepare like it is and I'm going to go down there and try and take care of business."

On the other side of the ledger is Adam Scott, the Aussie who would partner with Jason Day to represent his country in Rio. However he doesn't seem the slightest bit interested in participating.

“To go and play an exhibition event down there to meet some athletes (in other sports) in the middle of the major season, I don't think any other athletes in their sport would do that,” said in a press conference last May.

Scott's feeling is that golf – along with several other sports – don't belong in the Olympics. He believes that the Games have gotten away from their roots and golf's inclusion is an example of that.

Certainly more of the game's top players side with Spieth when it comes to the Olympics. Those likely to represent Canada – David Hearn, Graham DeLaet, Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp – have put the Games at or near the top of their list of goals for 2016. But it's far from unanimous. 

One thing is clear: the Olympics won't replace or even equal a major championship. A Green Jacket, Claret Jug or a jump in Poppie's Pond will mean more than a gold medal. 

Perhaps the best comparison for golf to measure itself is tennis. The racquet sport was a part of the Games up until 1924 when it was dropped due to a dispute between the International Olympic Committee and the International Lawn Tennis Federation. It returned in 1988 and since then, most of the big names in the game have participated. 

But can you name the players who've made their way to the top of the podium? While most tennis fans know that Serena Williams has won 21 major titles (including three this year), many of those same fans would be hard-pressed to know that the American star has also won four Olympic gold medals. 

It will be the same for golf. At least certainly in its first few go-arounds. Scott is right. Golf is not a sport you think of when the Olympics come to mind. It's more javelin, sprints, swimming and the pole vault. 

That doesn't mean it can't become immersed over time. Sports in the Games come and go, and at times it doesn't seem to make sense which are in and which are out. BMX cycling is in the Olympics, yet baseball is not.

Polo was once in the Olympics. And also croquet. So was Tug-of-War.

Seriously...Tug-of-War.

To me, golf makes sense as an entry to the Games, which has become about the world's most popular sports played by its most popular athletes. 

Over time, dissenters such as Scott may come around. But even if they don't, it likely won't detract from those who earn a gold medal or from seeing the likes of Spieth, Hearn and Henderson joining other athletes in marching in the Opening Ceremony. 

I'm sure George S. Lyon would be happy to know that at long last, someone will take over as Olympic champion.