Optimistic: Peter Dawson
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Peter Dawson, chief executive of the Royal and Ancient, is upbeat about golf’s chances of making an appearance at the 2016 Olympic Games. Speaking in his capacity as joint-secretary of the International Golf Federation (IGF), the organisation that has been preparing the sport’s Olympic bid he said:
"I'm optimistic but I have no particular reason for optimism other than I think golf has a particularly strong case. We've had no feedback from the IOC so far and nor would we expect any. But we've had a very good series of meetings and all the players are very excited about it."
The IGF has held a number of meetings with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) who will be making a final decision in October. Golf is one of seven sports chasing two coveted vacancies, with baseball, karate, roller sports, rugby sevens, softball and squash the others in the frame.
At the same October meeting, the IOC will also decide on the venue for the 2016 Games with Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo chasing selection.
If golf is chosen for 2016, Dawson says: "It’s important for us to demonstrate the international nature of golf, underscoring the fact that 60 million people play the sport in nearly 120 countries.”
PGA Tour official Ty Votaw, who is on the IGF’s Olympic Golf Committee, comments: "We obviously believe there is a compelling case as to why golf should be reinstated as an Olympic sport, and a large reason for that is the support from top players.
"Tiger Woods, Lorena Ochoa, Annika Sorenstam, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Suzann Pettersen, Paula Creamer, Camilo Villegas and Sergio Garcia have all said they support golf in the Olympics. And the feedback from the top players on 72 holes of strokeplay was compelling."
It has been reported that the men’s and the women’s events would each comprise of 60 players but would not be taken straight off the World Ranking list.
The IGF is made up of officials from the R&A, USGA, LPGA, PGA Tour, European Tour, Augusta National and PGA of America. Golf has not been an Olympic sport since 1904.
