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Tiger
Woods - AFP Photo |
Golf isn't new to the Olympics. This game was
last played at the St Louis Olympics in 1904, after it was
introduced in the 1900 Paris Games.
It didn't really tee off in the history of the Olympics but
that could soon be a thing of the past.
The popular sport satisfies the most important
criteria laid out for a sport to join the Olympics.
Golf has an ever-growing number of participants
and spectators around the world, and over the years world-class
players have emerged.
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Golf was first introduced in the
1900 Paris Games where Charles Sands and Margaret
Abbott from the US clinched gold medals in the
men's and women's individual events.
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It was last played in 1904 at the
St Louis Olympics in the US - the first time the
US hosted the games.
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Golf requires a two-thirds majority
to become an Olympic sport. Then it would need
a simple majority in a second vote to be admitted
to the 2012 Games.
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While professional golfers such as three-time
major winner Ernie Els and world number one Tiger Woods support
golf's return to the Games, they are not keen on participating
in the Olympics.
Instead they suggested the sport be restricted
to amateurs, and maybe, at a later stage, consider opening
it to the professionals.
The current golfing calendar is already too
congested to accommodate golf as a professional Olympic sport.
Furthermore, too much is at stake for these pros to take two
weeks off from their lucrative tours to play at the Olympics.
And while most athletes would jump at the chance
to represent their countries at the Olympics, professional
golfers are already doing so in major golf tournaments such
as the Ryder Cup and the President Cup.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) says
the support of professionals is vital for golf's return to
the Games but in order to get a spot in the Olympics, another
sport would have to make way.
It is now in the hands of the IOC members to
decide if golf will be appear at the Olympics for the third
time in the history of the Games.
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