Tokyo limits fans for Olympic golf, other sports

No patrons from abroad will be allowed to enter Japan for Summer Games because of COVID-19, affecting 1 million ticket holders

Barred: Spectators from abroad, from attending the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, officials announced Saturday. About 1 million tickets reportedly have been sold to spectators from outside of Japan, with another 4.45 million within the Japanese archipelago. Refunds have been promised. Ticket sales were budgeted at $800 million, which would have been the third-largest source of income, according to media reports. The Japanese government reportedly will have to absorb that cost. The host nation is spending $15.4 billion to organize the Olympics, which had been postponed from 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, several audits project the cost to be perhaps twice as much. All but $6.7 billion is public money. The Tokyo Games are scheduled for July 23-Aug. 8. The golf events will be July 29-Aug. 1 (men) and Aug. 4-7 (women) at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Saitama, near Tokyo. Last week, American Dustin Johnson, who is ranked No. 1 in the world, said he would not attend, citing schedule difficulties. Golf was restored to the Olympics in 2016 after a 112-year absence, but some of the top golfers in the world declined to participate in the Rio de Janeiro Games, citing the threat of the Zika virus.

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