The Olympic golf competition may be in for a soggy start, as the men are scheduled to begin play Thursday just days after a weak typhoon is predicted to make landfall Tuesday north of Tokyo.
Tropical Storm Nepartak is a mid-grade tropical storm by U.S. categorizations, the Associated Press reported. It could dump several inches of rain on Kasumigaseki Country Club northwest of Tokyo, which is on the eastern, Pacific Ocean-facing side of Japan. Maximum gusts have approached 70 mph, the Japan Meteorological Agency reported, with sustained winds of about 45 mph.
“It is a tropical storm of three grade out of five, so you shouldn’t be too much worried about that, but it is a typhoon in Japan interpretation,” Tokyo Games spokesman Masa Takaya said. “This is the weakest category, but this is still a typhoon so we should not be too optimistic about the impact of the course (of the storm).”
The storm, which is approaching the island nation from the east, is predicted to be gone from the area before the men tee off Thursday morning. But the golf course’s drainage could be tested, and there is a high probability of more rain throughout the next two weeks. The men play July 29-August 1, and the women play August 4-7.
