Jordan Spieth calls 2016 Olympic golf tournament his ‘fifth major’

Jordan Spieth has a lot to live up to in 2016. He won two majors, came up four shots shy of winning the other two and took the FedEx Cup. In total, he earned $ 22 million in on-course cash.

So what’s another bit of added pressure for the 22-year-old?

Spieth said Tuesday at the Australian Open in Sydney that he will treat the Olympic golf tournament in Rio de Janeiro like he would any of golf’s four biggest tournaments.

“Winning a gold medal has got to be up there in my mind with a major championship,” he said. “I’ve been asked the question: green jacket or gold medal? But that’s not fair. I think next year I’m going to approach it as a fifth major and I’m going to prepare like it is. I’m going to go down there and take care of business.”

The Texan is right. The four majors have been around way longer and have more importance to the long-term history of the sport than Olympic golf, which returns next year after a 112-year absence. Perhaps a more apropos line of questioning would be comparing an Olympic gold medal in golf to winning The Players Championship, the sport’s proverbial fifth major.

No matter the semantics of his weighting, Spieth’s response is in stark contrast to Aussie Adam Scott, who has railed against golf’s place in the Olympic program at every opportunity, saying he intends to skip the 60-player event.

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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