Golf going for gold

Rose: Olympic enthusiast

Golf stands a great chance of being included in the 2016 Olympic Games but only if the top stars are involved, says R&A chief executive Peter Dawson.

Golf was part of the Games' schedule in 1900 and 1904 but has been dropped ever since ands failed in a bid to be included in the 2012 event in London.

The feeling from the last bid was that the golfing world was not united or organised enough to get into the Olympics, and the International Golf Federation (IGF) has responded by forming an Olympic committee.

Top PGA Tour official Ty Votaw heads up the committee which represents the R&A, the USGA, LPGA, PGA Tour, European Tour, Augusta National and the PGA of America.

R&A chief Dawson says that another bid from golf would go down well with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and feels that a more united move from golf could prove successful.

Warm welcome

"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," Dawson said.

"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.

"There are two vacancies projected in the Olympics in 2016 but we have six sports up against us - rugby sevens, squash, karate, roller sports, softball and baseball.

"There is much to be done and stiff competition, but we do feel that we're putting together the right organisation to get the job done."

The IOC will decide the venue for the 2016 Games in October next year when the choose between Chicago, Madrid, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro, and they will also then decide whether golf will be included in the programme of events.

One problem could be that the USPGA Championship would need moving to avoid a clash in dates, while the sport's ant-drugs programme might need amending.

Big guns

Ryder Cup captain Nick Faldo is among those who believe any Olympic golf competition should be reserved for the amateurs, but Dawson has been told by the IOC that they would want the big guns such as Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson fighting it out for a gold medal.

"It's been made very clear to us on several occasions by the IOC that if golf is to be in the Olympics, then it has to be for the top players in the world," Dawson added.

"Golf will not get into the Olympics if it's to be for amateurs."

World number nine Justin Rose is on the other side of the fence and would love to represent Great Britain at he Olympics.

"I think I'd love to be a part of it," Rose said. "The Olympics is all about competing at the highest level.

"Golf in the Olympics would be fantastic but what it needs is the players at the highest end of the game to be competing for the gold medal.

"I'm not sure my wife (Kate) would ever forgive me if I won a gold medal because she was a gymnast as a kid and that was one of her dreams, so if I stole that she might not be too happy."