:00:00. > :00:10.Now on BBC News - it's time for HARDtalk: Extra Time.
:00:11. > :00:19.Welcome. I am Rob Bonnet. My guest today is a rarity.
:00:20. > :00:22.Victoria Lovelady, a golfer from a country where the game itself
:00:23. > :00:26.Lovelady is not only an ambassador for the Rio Olympics but also
:00:27. > :00:29.for a sport which has returned to the Games after an absence
:00:30. > :00:33.But, with many of the world's top male golfers withdrawing from Rio,
:00:34. > :01:06.will the return of the event to the games be short lived?
:01:07. > :01:16.Victoria Lovelady, welcome. You have only just qualified for your home
:01:17. > :01:28.Olympics. The tournament only had 60 places. What is the story? I just
:01:29. > :01:32.qualified. I had... The planning that I had done for the last year
:01:33. > :01:38.and I decided my last tournament was in the Czech republic and a
:01:39. > :01:45.calculated in a way that that was the limit of tournaments I could
:01:46. > :01:52.play before July 11 and after that we had the US Open. One week before
:01:53. > :02:00.the US Open I was qualified... In the top 60. But then, an American
:02:01. > :02:07.player had played really well, a friend of mine, and she brought me
:02:08. > :02:21.down to 61st. Still a friend? LAUGHTER Still a friend. I was able
:02:22. > :02:29.to become the 59th player after the federation had two places. I was
:02:30. > :02:33.raised as a child in Rio and it has a very special meaning to me so I am
:02:34. > :02:40.extremely happy I am able to play. You must have spent some anxious
:02:41. > :02:46.weeks? You think a lot and in the end you have to wait. There was
:02:47. > :02:51.nothing you could do... There was nothing I could do so I had to relax
:02:52. > :02:56.and wait. Did you find yourself constantly on the phone and
:02:57. > :03:05.constantly looking at the rankings? Oh, yes. I did sleep. I was waiting
:03:06. > :03:09.for the phone call from the resilient federation and I got it
:03:10. > :03:17.and it was great news. What did you do? I just started like shouting.
:03:18. > :03:25.Just like party time. It means so much to you? Oh, it does. It does.
:03:26. > :03:28.For the last year there was not one day that someone did not ask me
:03:29. > :03:35.about the Olympics. Being Brazilian, playing golf, after more than 100
:03:36. > :03:40.years when golfers not been back into the Olympics, it it was tough.
:03:41. > :03:47.Another Brazilian had qualified already. She was sure of a place
:03:48. > :03:53.before you and that was a place she was entitled because she was a
:03:54. > :03:56.representative of her home country, nevertheless she has represented
:03:57. > :04:01.Germany before so there was an issue as to whether that was appropriate.
:04:02. > :04:08.I wonder if he remained friends with her? I have known her for a long
:04:09. > :04:13.time and we played in the US together before the European tour.
:04:14. > :04:18.It was a big surprise for me that she became a Brazilian. She was born
:04:19. > :04:24.in Brazil say she had all the rights to become Brazilian. For me it was
:04:25. > :04:30.the first time I actually faced domestic competition, let's put it
:04:31. > :04:35.this way, and it was great because I have not improved so much ever
:04:36. > :04:40.before so it was a healthy competition. We are good friends and
:04:41. > :04:47.I very happy we are going to have two Brazilians. Nevertheless, she
:04:48. > :04:52.had represented Germany before. Is it appropriate that a player can
:04:53. > :04:58.switch because she would not have been able to qualify as a German. In
:04:59. > :05:04.the Olympics you see it all the time. A bit of a flag of
:05:05. > :05:10.convenience, is that what you are saying? If I put myself in her
:05:11. > :05:17.shoes, would I have done the same? Maybe, I do not know. It is hard to
:05:18. > :05:24.judge. I know Brazil is the two are part and it's a passion she has for
:05:25. > :05:31.the country so why not stop several men are not even attending the Rio
:05:32. > :05:38.Olympics. The world's top four are not going, several others decide,
:05:39. > :05:42.most are saying to health issues and that is a reference to the Zika
:05:43. > :05:48.virus which has been affecting your country. How do you feel about that?
:05:49. > :05:52.With the men, for me it is a little bit disappointing that, for the
:05:53. > :05:58.first time gold is coming back, and they are not going to be supporting
:05:59. > :06:04.the sport... It is a bit more than disappointing, it is kick in the
:06:05. > :06:09.teeth to Brazil and two golf? It is a little bit, however I understand
:06:10. > :06:13.two things about their arguments - one is about the Zika virus. All
:06:14. > :06:21.right, that is what they are using as an excuse... World, you have to,
:06:22. > :06:29.you know, have a certain percentage of concern but I understand that
:06:30. > :06:34.there schedule is really tight and they have two important tournaments
:06:35. > :06:42.won before the Olympics and one week after the Olympics. That has nothing
:06:43. > :06:48.to do with the Zika virus? Well, some players are just saying they do
:06:49. > :06:53.not want to fly to Brazil and come back to play, you know, back in the
:06:54. > :06:59.US. Maybe they should be straightforward in saying that. I
:07:00. > :07:02.believe so. However, I also understand that someone who was not
:07:03. > :07:08.raised in a tropical country, that has mosquitoes that that transmit
:07:09. > :07:13.diseases, how they can be scanned with all the bad media or the
:07:14. > :07:19.emphasis the media has put on the Zika virus. But neither you nor the
:07:20. > :07:27.rest of the women's field seem to be concerned, bar one. I think our
:07:28. > :07:34.passion as women golfers... When you consider the disparity of the
:07:35. > :07:39.prizes, the person is, with men's tournaments and women's tournaments,
:07:40. > :07:48.the drive that we have for passion is evident, you know, compared to
:07:49. > :07:55.some arguments that the guys make. OK, I am not willing to go to play
:07:56. > :08:00.for a small post but we are willing and I hope that can change that
:08:01. > :08:05.makes LAUGHTER That is what it was down to, it is down to money and the
:08:06. > :08:12.Zika is just a single. I think it fell conveniently to them to use
:08:13. > :08:16.Zika as an excuse. Some are being blunt about it, I respected that.
:08:17. > :08:28.However, I do respect as well the fear due to the magnitude of the
:08:29. > :08:33.emphasis, in a negative way, that has been targeting Zika. There is
:08:34. > :08:41.potentially a long-term issue here. We know golf is in for 2016 and in
:08:42. > :08:48.Tokyo 2020. It is provisional. If this is seen as a failure through
:08:49. > :08:54.the men's tournament, will it be hard to keep golf that? I understand
:08:55. > :08:58.that. I hope it does not happen. That is the thing, the media is
:08:59. > :09:04.focusing in the negative aspect of it but we are not considering the
:09:05. > :09:10.great golfers that are coming. I was in an event with Herrington and
:09:11. > :09:16.Martin Kime and they are one of the top golfers --2 of the top golfers.
:09:17. > :09:22.I still believe there is a great level of golf being played in the
:09:23. > :09:32.men's event... And Lydia Ko, the world 's 11, says the Olympics are
:09:33. > :09:38.her top priority. -- the world 's number one. If they decide the golf
:09:39. > :09:41.event for men has been a failure across two Olympic Games by the
:09:42. > :09:48.women's game has benefited from it and maybe highlighted in 2016, 2020,
:09:49. > :09:53.there would be a case for retaining the women's event and dropping the
:09:54. > :09:59.men's event. Normally the ISC would want both sexes to be represented.
:10:00. > :10:06.How would you feel about that? I OK with that. I think we are all OK
:10:07. > :10:11.with that as girls. You said that has been too much publicity about
:10:12. > :10:17.Zika is make yes, I remember in the beginning of the year I was in
:10:18. > :10:24.Australia and almost every night you had news about the Zika virus. I do
:10:25. > :10:29.not know if this happened to previous host countries for the
:10:30. > :10:33.Olympics so maybe I think that was why it was such a hot topic but the
:10:34. > :10:40.little information that we have on the Zika virus is not giving people
:10:41. > :10:44.enough confidence. However, as in Brazil, we're not going to stop
:10:45. > :10:51.allies because the Zika virus. You can protect yourself with repellent.
:10:52. > :10:55.During the Olympics it is not the mosquito season so the mosquitoes
:10:56. > :11:02.are not going to be going crazy in the golf course or the arenas...
:11:03. > :11:06.That have been plenty of advisories about how people should protect
:11:07. > :11:18.themselves. Over 100 ROM and it DRS wrote a letter to the WHO. -- 100
:11:19. > :11:26.prominent doctors. A Canadian professor said in a telephone
:11:27. > :11:30.interview that if the IOC and WHO do not the generosity of hard to
:11:31. > :11:37.prevent children being born disabled, they are amongst the
:11:38. > :11:43.cruellest institutions in the world. That is a tough quote. It is.
:11:44. > :11:48.Equally there have been cause of trying to put the dangers of Zika in
:11:49. > :11:55.perspective. You're not dismissive but you think it is a risk worth
:11:56. > :12:02.taking. Yes, and as I said, I was talking to a friend of mine who is a
:12:03. > :12:05.doctor and Zika has been one of her research topics and she mentioned
:12:06. > :12:13.that the virus could stay only one month in your body. I think people
:12:14. > :12:20.are being extra careful. You have to take care of yourself if you get
:12:21. > :12:27.bitten, for two years. I think everybody needs to be careful. After
:12:28. > :12:31.I play the Olympics in Riau, I would like to get text of deceit if I have
:12:32. > :12:40.the Zika virus and take the right measures not to cause any problems.
:12:41. > :12:44.However the chances of it happening is a really small. I was on the golf
:12:45. > :12:49.course in March when it was warm weather and I did not see any
:12:50. > :12:55.mosquitoes and did not get bitten once so now the credibility of that
:12:56. > :13:01.happening is even less so... I would like to talk about the golf course
:13:02. > :13:07.in just a moment. But briefly, I would like to touch on the social,
:13:08. > :13:14.political and economic issue and the perception that crime in Rio is not
:13:15. > :13:19.necessarily out of control but very strong issue. How might that affect
:13:20. > :13:26.the Olympic experience as Mac I cannot discard that these realities
:13:27. > :13:31.in our country but, again, I have been born into that reality and
:13:32. > :13:37.raised in that reality. In Rio, you see clearly, the disparity between
:13:38. > :13:42.rich and poor. A wealthy neighbourhood, a poor neighbourhood.
:13:43. > :13:48.And you have to be careful. There are areas in Rio you cannot go.
:13:49. > :13:54.There are people who do two wars in the favelas, which is our shanty
:13:55. > :14:00.towns, why put yourself in that situation? I would not go. You know
:14:01. > :14:06.what I mean, I would not go and take a tour so why do people do that? It
:14:07. > :14:15.is safe, even the dangers of guys like it because it brings kudos to
:14:16. > :14:19.their neighbourhood. -- dangerous. But why put yourself in that
:14:20. > :14:28.situation? The Olympic experience, for the
:14:29. > :14:31.athletes and fans, isn't just about sitting in the stadium and watching,
:14:32. > :14:35.it is about seeing a bit of the city and maybe the country beyond. In
:14:36. > :14:41.that sense maybe the real Olympics will be diminished little bit. Rio
:14:42. > :14:48.is an amazing city. For me, it is the most beautiful beach town that
:14:49. > :14:56.it could ever be in. Well, it looks great on a postcard. It does. As I
:14:57. > :15:05.say, it's a 9 million people city. A big city. Bigger than the Swedish
:15:06. > :15:13.population! By two have to be careful. Like in Los Angeles, you
:15:14. > :15:20.shouldn't go to Southampton. You shouldn't go to downtown LA at three
:15:21. > :15:32.in the morning by yourself. So everybody has to be careful. Whoever
:15:33. > :15:37.goes to the sites, just go, it is amazing. Nobody will be able to
:15:38. > :15:42.resist a walk along Copacabana. But you have to be careful. Don't flush
:15:43. > :15:48.eyes on like this. Don't leave your wallet in your pocket sticking out.
:15:49. > :15:53.These are measures where if you are coming to really have to take. Let's
:15:54. > :15:58.talk about you and golf and I suppose my perception that we still
:15:59. > :16:03.is of course known for football and there you are, a young girl, who may
:16:04. > :16:07.have watched Brazilian heroes playing football, but how did you
:16:08. > :16:12.get into golf? Which certainly Brazil is not known for. There are
:16:13. > :16:20.15,000 players? Something like that? Right. My great grandfather was one
:16:21. > :16:29.of the founding members of a club, that is one of the first golf clubs
:16:30. > :16:34.in Rio and also in the country. When my dad picked up golf, he passed it
:16:35. > :16:37.on to me. In Brazil if your family... If you don't have that
:16:38. > :16:42.family tradition of golf it is really hard to start. Now I will
:16:43. > :16:47.think like in the past five years the access has been greater. But it
:16:48. > :16:53.is known as a game for the privileged few to wrap the world,
:16:54. > :16:56.but especially in Brazil. Yes. I am very blessed that I had the chance
:16:57. > :17:02.to be in contact with golf, because golf has opened so many doors for me
:17:03. > :17:05.in my life. Even when it comes to education, I was able to get a
:17:06. > :17:12.scholarship playing golf in the United States. So I was very lucky
:17:13. > :17:16.that I have that access. What are your friends think about that? They
:17:17. > :17:21.might have been curious. They are really mad at me because many times
:17:22. > :17:26.I had to say, no, I'm not going to that party because I have a
:17:27. > :17:31.tournament. Or, no, I'm not travelling with ten friends to the
:17:32. > :17:35.beach house because, you know, I have a tournament, I have to
:17:36. > :17:40.practise. Or I have to leave the country because I need to invest in
:17:41. > :17:44.my golf and I have -- leave the country when I was 16, in the
:17:45. > :17:50.highlight of my teenage life in a sense. Exactly. You missed all the
:17:51. > :17:55.joys of teenage life. Well, I had a very good time, I can say. But it
:17:56. > :17:59.was sad to see your friends having a great time back home and you are
:18:00. > :18:03.there playing golf, you are focused and thinking about your future and
:18:04. > :18:07.being responsible in a way to build a future for yourself. At what point
:18:08. > :18:12.did you realise you are going to make a living out of golf? To be
:18:13. > :18:17.honest, my drive has always been more for the passion of the game. I
:18:18. > :18:25.didn't think much about the consequences of it. Being a female
:18:26. > :18:27.athlete, also being a female also, in the beginning everything is small
:18:28. > :18:35.so it takes a lot of investment and I was lucky enough that I had that,
:18:36. > :18:39.the means to start my career. This is my third year in the European
:18:40. > :18:46.Tour and my third year where I was able to be independent as a human
:18:47. > :18:51.being, in a sense, and be able to start to make a living out of golf.
:18:52. > :18:55.So you have several ambitions, no doubt, left for the game and the
:18:56. > :19:01.first one is to win Olympic gold, which is by no means impossible.
:19:02. > :19:04.Anything can happen. Exactly. In the world rankings you are down in 400
:19:05. > :19:13.somewhere. What are you looking for? Top 50? Of course. I had a slow
:19:14. > :19:19.start and even from the beginning of last year I wasn't even ranked. So I
:19:20. > :19:26.am very proud of myself, that I was able to move more than 500 positions
:19:27. > :19:38.in one year and I am excited. I am excited for my next goal is, to be
:19:39. > :19:45.in the tour where the best players are. Golf is nearly constructed and
:19:46. > :19:51.there have been serious concerns about building a golf course there,
:19:52. > :19:53.environmentally. Are you constable that there has been little or no
:19:54. > :20:00.environmental damage? -- comfortable. Because there are
:20:01. > :20:06.alternatives. Yes, we had... It was interesting. The beginning of the
:20:07. > :20:13.building of the golf course, a complex that they had even with land
:20:14. > :20:23.owners and the state, it was a bit of a mess. -- conflicts. However,
:20:24. > :20:28.the design they developed, it is harmonic and organic to the area.
:20:29. > :20:35.But there has been a protesting movement. Actually, and when we had
:20:36. > :20:45.our test event, there were some protesters there. Did you make an
:20:46. > :20:50.impact? No, but I understand. We are country with the Amazon forest, we
:20:51. > :20:55.have a responsibility. Anything that can cause any damage is very
:20:56. > :21:01.worrisome. Would you expect protest during the Olympics themselves? I
:21:02. > :21:05.don't know, to be honest. I just try to gauge the sense of feeling about
:21:06. > :21:12.it. I have no idea. The thing with Brazilians... When there is time to
:21:13. > :21:15.get together and have a good time, which is definitely going to be the
:21:16. > :21:22.call for the Olympics, people kind of tend to forget about things and
:21:23. > :21:27.the joy of the Brazilian culture takes over and everyone is going to
:21:28. > :21:34.want to have a good time. So I truly believe when the game starts, even
:21:35. > :21:42.what happens to the work up, we are going through some sensitive moments
:21:43. > :21:45.as a Brazilian... Not wise to mention the performance of the
:21:46. > :21:49.Brazilian team at the last World Cup. I totally forgot about that. I
:21:50. > :21:54.don't even know what happened on the last day. Conveniently forgot. Let's
:21:55. > :22:01.talk about the conditions on the golf course. It is a proper test. It
:22:02. > :22:04.is amazing. I was extremely surprised with the maintenance of
:22:05. > :22:16.the golf course and the design and how visually it's kind of played its
:22:17. > :22:20.strategic fears in new, in a sense. But it's an amazing cause. I think
:22:21. > :22:28.they got the best grass for it. The area takes a salty water, which is
:22:29. > :22:32.great, we're not using fresh water. Important is whether or not it will
:22:33. > :22:37.provide a legacy. It needs to therefore be accessible to the
:22:38. > :22:44.public. Yes. I believe so and I really hope so. I really hope the
:22:45. > :22:48.people who will take over have that responsibility as their priority, to
:22:49. > :22:54.keep golf, especially their course, open to the public, with access in
:22:55. > :22:58.terms of the value of play, how much they will be paid to play, how much
:22:59. > :23:04.they will be paid to rent equipment, people who don't have equipment. So
:23:05. > :23:12.I hope they are held to a very high standard when it comes to that. The
:23:13. > :23:17.interesting thing about it will be the first public course in Brazil
:23:18. > :23:21.and there is a big residential area behind it. The curious eyes will
:23:22. > :23:25.start looking at it and say, hey, I can go and play and I don't need to
:23:26. > :23:32.be invited by a member to comment play. So it's a huge thing. You
:23:33. > :23:35.remain optimistic than four golf at the Rio Olympics and beyond? Because
:23:36. > :23:40.that is the important thing as far as the golf community is concerned.
:23:41. > :23:42.Oh, yes, definitely. Victoria Lovelady, thank you for joining us
:23:43. > :24:11.on ExtraTime. Thank you. This time last week
:24:12. > :24:14.we were enjoying, or should that be