Golf Unites For 2016 Olympic Bid
Golf’s major governing bodies have united to set up a committee which will push for the sport to be included in the 2016 Olympics.
The International Golf Federation (IGF) changed its structure following golf’s failure to be included in London 2012.
The IGF’s Olympic committee is to be headed by PGA Tour official Ty Votaw and represents the R&A, the USGA, LPGA, PGA Tour, European Tour, Augusta National and the PGA of America.
Two from seven sports – golf, baseball, karate, roller sports, rugby sevens, softball and squash – will be added to the Games in eight years’ time.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will make a decision next October, when they will also decide on whether Chicago, Madrid, Tokyo or Rio de Janeiro will host the event.
Peter Dawson, chief executive of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club (R&A), said
lessons had been learned from the previous failed bid, saying: ‘I think golf was not really speaking with one voice at the time and we were nowhere near as advanced as we are now with our anti-doping policies and so on.
‘We visited the IOC in Lausanne recently and it was made pretty clear to us at that meeting that a bid from golf would be warmly welcomed by the IOC, so I think we’re in much better shape.’
