Duh! Golfers Approve of Golf in Olympics

SAN FRANCISCO -- To absolutely no surprise, news that golf will return as an Olympic sport at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games was welcomed by golfers.

"I think it's great for golf," Tiger Woods said Friday morning before beginning play at the Presidents Cup. "It's a perfect fit for the Olympics and I think we are all looking forward to golf getting into the Olympics."

What, you were expecting him to say skateboarding got hosed?

Golf was last an Olympic sport at the 1904 Games in St. Louis, when the United States and Canada were the only two competing countries.

For 2016, the Olympic field is expected to be 60 players for each of the men's and women's competition, using the Official World Golf Rankings as a method of determining eligibility. The top-15 world-ranked players would be eligible for the Olympics, regardless of the number of players from a given country. Beyond the top 15, players would be eligible based on the world rankings, with a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top-15.

"Everybody is very excited that golf became an Olympic sport, and we are working hard on our games so that over the next six years we are able to make the team and represent our country in the Olympics," American Phil Mickelson said.

You can take him at his word if you want to. Hopefully, next year's major championships will not interfere for the distant preparation. Incidentally, 2016 will also be a Ryder Cup year, with the competition to be played in the United States.

Getting the nod (along with rugby) as an Olympic sport, however, is an absolute plus for growing the game internationally as countries will create development programs and build facilities.

Rio de Janeiro will be a good start. Currently there are few golf facilities in the entire country of Brazil and no notable players.

"It just means the game is going to grow and it can never hurt to have younger kids playing in the Olympics," Anthony Kim said. "Having golf be a part of it, it's going to be a big deal and hopefully inspire a bunch of kids from a lot of different countries to take up the game and make the game better."

PGA Tour executive director Ty Votaw was directly involved with golf's official presentation before the IOC

"We strongly believed that golf deserved to be added to the Olympic Program and felt that we presented a compelling case to the IOC," Votaw said. "We have received unprecedented support from international golf organizations throughout this process, as well as from the world's top-ranked men and women players, which was critical to our success. We also stressed the universal nature of golf, with 60 million people playing the sport in more than 120 countries."

Based on player feedback, golf proposes a format of 72-hole individual stroke play for both men and women. In case of a tie for either first, second or third place, a three-hole playoff is recommended to determine the medal winner(s).