In one of his blog entries for PGATOUR.COM, PGA TOUR commissioner Tim Finchem addressed why the golfing community is interested in making a bid to become an Olympic sport in 2016. Here is part of his entry:
I see two very positive developments coming from including golf as an Olympic sport. One would be a significant boost to the popularity and perception of the game all around the world. While golf is a developed sport in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan and some other countries, it is only a minor sport in many countries, including some of the larger developing countries, like China and India. If golf were an Olympic sport, the profile and importance of the game would increase, generating additional interest in people playing golf and also generating funding from both national Olympic committees and individual governments for the development of golf and young golfers.
Recently, a subcommittee of the World Golf Foundation headed by the USGA and R&A conducted a study of many national golf federations throughout the world. As a result, for the first time we have specific data indicating what benefits would accrue to the game from including golf as an Olympic sport.
The other major benefit is that it would further help bring the world of golf together to work on this major initiative. Golf is truly a global sport and there any many organizations throughout the world involved, in addition to the USGA, the R&A, the LPGA, the PGA of America, the European Tour, and all of the other foreign professional golf Tours, there are numerous national golf federations. It has always been one of my major objectives as Commissioner of the PGA TOUR to help bring the various golf organizations around the world together in addressing problems and realizing opportunities. Golf in the Olympics presents a unique opportunity for all of these golf organizations to work together in an effort to promote and grow the game.
While golf has many significant events throughout the year, including the major championships, THE PLAYERS Championship and the World Golf Championships, adding golf to the Olympics would provide another dimension to our competitive landscape. I do not believe that Olympic golf would have any effect on the stature or prestige of these other significant events but rather would provide another, complementary opportunity for our players to compete and demonstrate their skills on a global stage. |
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