Kopfgelt » very firm, very fiery, but overall I felt pretty pleased wi

I didnt notice the scarcity of Americans in Rio de Janeiro until I started looking for them, wandering around the Olympics like a lonely tourist in search of an English-speaking friend.At smaller events like judo and diving, the U.S. was barely represented in the stands. Most of the ticket holders I approached at a womens basketball game, including two men in Magic Johnson jerseys and one woman carrying a tiny American flag, turned out to be Brazilians with an affinity for the stars and stripes. At the more crowded track and field and gymnastics venues, I followed the sound of USA cheers, only to realize they were being led by fans speaking Portuguese.On Monday, minutes before the individual balance beam finals, I chased down a guy wearing an Uncle Sam hat (a New Yorker!) and asked him if he had seen other Americans in the crowd.Theres not that many, which is surprising, he said. I think the U.S. press really scared everyone.The IOC claims that the 2016 Olympics will draw between 350,000 and 500,000 international visitors who have scooped up about 25 percent of the tickets sold so far (the organizing committee did not respond to a request for information on how many were sold to fans from the U.S.). But over the course of two weeks in Rio, I heard the same question from bartenders, hotel workers and restaurateurs: Where were the Americans?While a smattering of tourists from the States roamed the streets near the biggest venues, they were hard to find in neighboring areas like Lapa, Leblon and Botafogo. Max Prata, a vendor selling Rio-themed tank tops and hats on a street corner in Copacabana, said he had only encountered a handful of visitors from the States.There is a lot of American confusion, he said. Around the world, people have information on the Zika, the favelas. They need to see its tranquil.In recent months, the news coming out of Brazil has been anything but. The political scandal, financial meltdown and public health crisis all converged to form a category 5 news hurricane, shaking the countrys tourism industry to its core. Even with the Olympics, the World Trade and Tourism Council estimates that the industrys contribution to Brazils GDP, which has historically been larger than the banking and mining sectors, will shrink by nearly $2 billion this year. While flights and bookings jumped this month, several American travel agencies reported unusually low interest in the Games.This is one of the first Olympics where I didnt have a rush of people wanting to go, said Eric Hrubant, owner of CIRE Travel in New York. I had literally none.Of course, the economic benefits of Olympics tourism are always oversold. The Games organizers, eager to justify the absurd amounts of money spent on stadiums destined to rot away like abandoned carcasses, throw out laughable numbers assembled by bought-and-paid-for consultants. Said numbers are widely touted, then forgotten, like so many of the promises leading up to the event. In the wake of the 2014 World Cup, spending by foreign visitors actually dropped compared to the previous year, according to the countrys Central Bank.When pressed with these figures, Olympics backers will often point to the indirect benefits of hosting the Games -- the so-called halo effect that results when hundreds of foreign reporters descend on a host city like soldiers on a reconnaissance mission, airing stories and images that will hopefully lure tourists from their home countries. When the IOC picked Rio to host the Games seven years ago, tourism minister Luiz Barretto said the country would use the Olympics to market itself to the entire world.This will provide immense increases in Brazilian tourism and for our economy in the long run, he said.Over the last two weeks, viewers in the U.S. and elsewhere have glimpsed Rios sparkling beaches and soaring mountain views; theyve also seen heavily armed military officers lingering near tanks and watched around-the-clock coverage of swimmer Ryan Lochtes robbery at gunpoint. Theyve read about crime in the favelas, raw sewage in the bay and excruciating traffic in the streets.Its likely that the breathless reports on the Zika virus leading up to the Olympics actually exacerbated the slowdown in tourism. Alison Buerling, a Latin American travel analyst with the market research firm Euromonitor, said countries like Mexico, which were also impacted by Zika, benefited from less coverage.Brazil is on the world stage in a way that it wouldnt be if they werent hosting the Olympics, she said.This is the great gamble of the Games. Back in 2009, when the Olympics were awarded to Rio, the president of the countrys tourist board called the event an advertisement campaign that will change the image of Brazil for at least four years. In a perverse way, she could be right. Hosting the Olympics is a little like putting on a party and inviting the entire world; no matter how many doors you close and hallways you cordon off, visitors will find their way into the darkest corners of your house. Wesley Johnson Jersey .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore. Chris Paul Clippers Jersey . 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Englands Tyrrell Hatton hailed the best round of his career after equalling the course record at St. Andrews to take control of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.Hatton carded 10 birdies in a flawless 62 on the Old Course and will take a three-shot lead over compatriot Ross Fisher into Sundays final round at the same venue, one of three used for the pro-am event.The world No.53 raced to the turn in 30 and picked up further shots on the 10th, 14th, 17th and 18th to finish 17 under par in pursuit of his first European Tour title.(Its) quite clearly the best round Ive ever had. Ive never got to double digits before either so Im really pleased with that, said the 24-year-old, who was fifth in the Open at Royal Troon and 10th in the US PGA Championship at Baltusrol.I think my bad shots, I didnt really get punished for them. I missed them in good spots and I just putted really well. If you are holing putts, youre always going to shoot a decent score.I think the putt on 17 was probably the best putt I holed today, 25 feet. But the majority of them were around six to 15 feet and if you keep knocking them in, its certainly good for confidence.Obviously Id love to get a win and Ill try my best tomorrow. Its been a really consistent year and hopefully I can have a good finish to the year as well.I went out to the States [after the US PGA] because I was close to getting a PGA Tour card, but that didnt work out and Im happy to be playing back in Europe.Halfway leader Fisher, who lost a playoff for the Porsche European Open a fortnight ago, carded a 69 at Carnouustie to finish 14 under, with South Africas Richard Sterne and Swedens Joakim Lagergren a shot further back.ddddddddddddou never know what youre going to get when you turn up here, Fisher said. We were all hoping for Car-nicety and not Car-nasty. We got it. It was a beautiful day to play this place.It was still tricky out there. It was very firm, very fiery, but overall I felt pretty pleased with the round. There were a couple of scrappy shots. Maybe left a couple of putts out there but all in all I cant complain. To shoot in the 60s for the third day running, Im obviously very, very pleased.Hopefully Ill be drawn with Tyrrell [on Sunday], because were pretty good friends. Weve spent quite a few evenings together for dinner and stuff.Im sure well go out there and have some fun and put on some good golf for the public and you know, whether its me, him, someone else, theres going to be a worthy winner come tomorrow afternoon.Former world No.1 Martin Kaymer is five shots off the lead after a 65 on the Old Course, but was more concerned with making the cut in the team event with his father Horst.I was quite a few shots behind, so the main goal was to make the cut with my father today, Kaymer said. I know how hard hes trying and we played the last few years and we always came one shot short.He never experienced the final round at St. Andrews, so I think the most important thing is that we have a good time out there as a family. ' ' '