Team Canada Special Olympics Golfers Join Team USA for World Games Training Camp in Los Angeles

Special Olympics Canada golfers enjoy a skills session with PGA Tour Pros Ben Crane, Russell Henley and Webb Simpson. From left to right, Crane, Tess Trojan (Special Olympics Ontario), Henley, Kyle Grummet (Special Olympics BC), Lorrine Russell (Special Olympics Ontario), Simpson and Danny Peaslee (Special Olympics Manitoba).

Toronto, ON, – Special Olympics Team Canada golfers Kyle Grummet, Kyle Koopman, Danny Peaslee, Lorrine Russell and Tess Trojan had the distinct pleasure of being invited to take part in a World Games golf training camp alongside Special Olympics Team USA golfers in Los Angeles, California. The athletes had the unique opportunity to play the Wilson-Harding Course in Griffith Park, the home course for the upcoming 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games, happening this summer from July 25 to August 2, 2015.

Alongside the Special Olympics Team Canada golfers taking part in this week’s training camp were PGA of Canada Pros Carrie Vaughan, Dave Scinocca and Robb Anderson, as well as PGA of Canada Technical Director, Glenn Cundari. PGA of Canada Pros have been training with Team Canada golfers in the lead up to this training camp, and their instruction will be important aspects of the golfers’ training over the months ahead leading into the Games.

PGA Tour Pros Webb Simpson, Ben Crane and Russell Henley, who are competing in the Northern Trust Open at the Riviera Country Club following the World Games training camp, generously offered their time and provided a skills session for the golfers on Tuesday.

Nicola McGovern, Team Canada Golf Head Coach said, “Team Canada was delighted to have its spring golf training camp in LA! This was an exciting opportunity to meet Special Olympics Team USA golfers and PGA Tour Pros, experience a PGA Tour event and skills session, and practice and play at the World Games venue. The athletes have worked hard this winter and are focused on World Games, so having training camp at the competition venue is an asset to our training plan. Our thanks to the organizers of the World Gamers golf training camp for inviting and hosting Team Canada.”


About Special Olympics Canada
Established in 1969, the Canadian chapter of this international movement is dedicated to enriching the lives of Canadians with an intellectual disability through sport. Operation year-round in all Canadian provinces and territories except Nunavut, this grassroots movement reaches beyond the sphere of sport to empower individuals, change attitudes, and build communities. From two-year olds to mature adults, there are more than 38,000 children and adults with an intellectual disability registered in Special Olympics programs across Canada. They are supported by more than 17,000 volunteers, including close to 13,000 trained coaches.

For more information, visit www.specialolympics.ca or follow us on Facebook and Twitter @SpecialOCanada.

Golf Channel Begins Celebration of Golf's Olympic Return at the 2016 Rio Olympics

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 19, 2014 – As the 2014 Olympic Winter Games from Sochi come to a close this Sunday, the sporting world will begin to turn its attention to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where golf returns to the Olympic program for the first time in 112 years at the 2016 Olympic Games. On Monday, February 24, Golf Channel will begin celebrating golf’s road to Rio with dedicated Olympic-themed coverage on air, online and through its social media channels. The Rio Opening Ceremony will be Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, 893 days from Golf Channel’s celebration on Monday.

“The lead up to golf’s return to the Olympics will be one of the biggest stories in golf in the coming years. Golf Channel will be covering this historic story from a variety of angles as the international growth of golf is put on display with its inclusion in the Olympics,” said Mike McCarley, President of Golf Channel.

Season two of In Play with Jimmy Roberts, which this year expands to an hour, begins Monday at 10 p.m. ET, following the season premiere of Big Break Florida at 9 p.m. ET. In Play will feature an exclusive look at the preparation of the Olympic golf course in Rio through multiple interviews with the course’s designer, Gil Hanse. For the past two years, Golf Channel cameras have captured the development process of the course, including Hanse’s initial visit to the proposed site in 2011, his winning bid to be architect and course designer in 2012 and the current shaping of the course, which is currently under construction. Hanse said, “I don’t know that we will ever get to build a more significant golf course. It is the opportunity of a lifetime.” Hanse also opens up about family stresses during the construction process (his family moved to Rio in January, 2013), his frustrations with the delays of the course development and how he, his family and his management team have overcome these struggles and are moving forward with a scheduled completion of the course in 2014.

Gil Hanse, on the Olympics course design and the schedule changes:

“We can clearly see in what we are building, and the landforms that exist, that we have got something pretty exciting here. The best parts of the day are when the optimism bubbles through of, ‘Boy, wait until we finish this and how good it is going to look.’”

“The schedule has changed – not to fit the pace but basically to fit the reality of where we are now. So, now we have a realistic schedule that will have this golf course being completed sometime in the first half of 2014.”

Hanse’s design team also has been hard at work in renovating and reconstructing the famed Blue Monster Course at Trump National Doral in Miami, Fla. The course, which re-opened in early February to rave reviews, will host the PGA TOUR’s World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship in March. Donald Trump discusses with Roberts on In Play why he selected Hanse as the course architect and some of the enhancements and changes made to the course.

The hour-long episode of In Play also delves into the history of golf in the Olympics, which makes its return in 2016 after a 112-year absence, with three unique stories. In Play will highlight the 1900 Olympic Games (Paris, France), when Margaret Abbott won the women’s golf tournament, becoming the first American woman in any sport to win an Olympic event; the 1904 Olympic Games (St. Louis, Mo.) – the last Olympics when golf was an official sport – when Canadian George Lyon dominated the field and won the gold medal, and how he later refused to accept the gold medal at the 1908 London Games; as well as a retrospective on an international golf event taking place around the 1936 Olympic Games, now known as the “Hitler Invitational,” that took place in Berlin, Germany.

Morning Drive, Golf Channel’s daily morning show, also will look toward Rio on Monday and review the projected field if the men’s and women’s Olympic competitions were to take place today. Hanse is scheduled to join the show on Monday from Rio, and Golf Digest contributor Geoff Shackelford, who has personally surveyed the Rio Olympic golf course project, will join Morning Drive to discuss the latest developments on the design and construction of the course in Rio.

GolfChannel.com will post projected fields for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, based on current world rankings. The field is scheduled to be a total of 60 players for each of the men’s and women’s events. The top-15 ranked players of each gender will qualify with a limit of four golfers qualifying from a country. The remaining 45 spots will go to the highest-ranked players from countries that do not already have two golfers qualified. GolfChannel.com also will launch a dedicated section within the site (www.GolfChannel.com/Olympicgolf) that focuses solely on Olympics-related content, and Golf Channel and NBC Sports’ social media channels will combine efforts to promote Olympics-related content using the #Rio2016 hashtag.

GolfChannel.com will feature on Monday a column from senior writer Jason Sobel on the history of golf in the Olympics. Sobel takes an in-depth look at Glen Echo Country Club in St. Louis, the last venue to host an Olympics golf tournament in 1904 that featured one of the more unique and memorable medal presentations in Olympics history.

ABOUT GOLF CHANNEL
Golf Channel is a multimedia, golf entertainment and services company based in Orlando, Fla. Golf Channel, co-founded by Arnold Palmer in 1995 and now part of the NBC Sports Group, is available in more than 120 million homes and 83 countries worldwide. Exclusive partnerships with the world’s top tours allow Golf Channel to feature more live golf coverage than all other networks combined, as well as a programming schedule distinguished by golf’s highest-quality news, instruction and original programming. Golf Channel’s digital platforms, led by GolfChannel.com, are the leading golf destinations on the Internet, delivering unmatched coverage of the world of golf, as well as services that connect the world to golf. Fans are able to enjoy 24/7 live streaming of Golf Channel content through GolfChannel.com and Golf Channel’s mobile application, Golf Live Extra. Golf Channel programming also is available via SiriusXM’s PGA TOUR Radio.

The Haney Project - Michael Phelps

In anticipation of The Haney Project with Michael Phelps, premiering Monday February 25th at 9:00 ET on the Golf Channel, I had the opportunity to connect with Hank Haney and Michael Phelps and get the inside scoop on what we can expect.  Over the years I've had the opportunity to meet several world renown athletes including professional golfers, hockey players, skiers, etc, but connecting with the worlds most decorated Olympian is at the top of the list.

I found out first hand why Michael Phelps, winner of 22 Olympic medals, made the decision to trade in his Speedo for a pair of spikes and pursue golf as the next stage of his career. "It was something I was interested in for a long time." Phelps explained "One of the craziest thing was  when I got my first set of golf clubs, I wanted to do it just so give myself kind of something away from the pool that doesn't have to be always sort of focused around swimming."

He continued to talk about his journey "I have friends that played in high school and played in college and I was able to go out with them, and at that point I was like, wow, maybe I'll just quit swimming and start golfing. But then we quickly decided that probably wasn't the best idea. So I decided to just do it as a hobby. Took about a year off after the Olympics to really focus on what I had to do there. And then sort of being able to travel the world and play some of the best golf courses and learn from the greatest golf coach, I think it's just like  for me it's a cool opportunity of being able to learn a game that's so challenging."

"And it is probably one of the most humbling things I've ever done in my entire life; to be able to learn from the best and see some of the best courses, it was something that really interested me.

I guess it was right around New Year's where I really started falling even more in love with the sport and it's allowed me to I think really since then be able to be more consistent than I was but not as consistent as I want to be."

(Photo credits: Golf Channel)

As a professional athlete, Phelps has undoubtedly set some high golf goals for himself, and with the expert help of Hank Haney he hopes to achieve them.  He was a little reluctant to give specifics but had this to say  "there is still something that is keeping me hungry, and I do have a goal in this sport, and I'm going to do everything that I can to hopefully achieve that." He later gave some more insight  "In other sports, I could pick up a basketball and shoot a basketball. I could pick up a lacrosse stick and be fine. I can play baseball. I can play soccer. Like I feel like I can participate in a lot of other sports but I think in the sport of golf, there are so many different levels."  

"I have friends who play as a scratch golfer, and for me it would be exciting to be able to get down to where I could compete with them. So it's a challenge for me, and it's something that, like I said, keeps me  sure, it's not like I can go out and play a perfect round and hit all good shots, but that's what really keeps me coming back to try to reach that point.

I'm sure it's very challenging and who knows if it's possible to hit every perfect shot in a round. But it's obviously something that I am learning and hopefully I can go out and enjoy the game even more than I already have."  

(Photo credits: Golf Channel)

Hank Haney also weighed with his thoughts about his newest student "Obviously Michael is an incredible athlete, and as most unbelievable athletes see, translating it into golf is a little bit harder than it looks. But obviously he's got a tremendous amount of potential. Just his size and the length of his arms and his height, those give him such an advantage in the game, because so much of golf is distance, it's power and how far you can hit the golf ball."

Haney continued to talk about Phelps potential "So when I looked at Michael, like most people would say, wow, he's got a lot of potential for the game of golf. But the thing about potential in golf, it's really directly related to your clubhead speed and that means that anyone with a lot of potential when they are first starting is going to be wild with their shots and that just kind of goes with the territory. But I knew that he was raw as a golfer, but had incredible potential, and I was just looking forward to helping him.

The thing that I think gives him a big advantage is that he knows the process, he's patient with the process. He always talks about just takinglittle baby steps and he's had great coaching through his career, so he knows what it's like to be coached. So I felt like, you know what, this is going to be a dream student for me."

Over all Michael was super positive about his experience with the Haney Project and guarantees to have viewers laughing "It's probably going to be one of the funniest shows you've ever seen of the Haney Project. With the experiences that we have with the friends that I have on the show, I don't want to give too much away, but I guarantee you, we will have you laughing each part of the show, every single episode you ever watch, you're going to be you may be crying because you're laughing so hard.   We have been laughing every step of the way and we've had a great experience, and I have learned a lot. You can see from the very first shot that I took to the very last."

"I think with practice, you can be whatever you want to be, and with a goal you can go in any direction that you want to go in. So I think that's something that I think a lot of people will get out of the show."  

Here's a sneak peak of the show...

- - - - - - 
The Haney Project will follow Phelps over the course of eight, 60-minute episodes to see if he can outperform his predecessors from previous seasons, which have included Charles Barkley, Ray Romano, Rush Limbaugh and Adam Levine.  For more information about The Haney Project, visit: http://www.golfchannel.com/tv/the-haney-project/

A Fish Out of Water - Phelps Joins The Haney Project

You know the saying “Like a fish out of water”, that was my first thought when I heard Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps would be joining The Haney Project during the upcoming season, launching February 25th on the Golf Channel. I personally think it should be very entertaining to watch Hank Haney work his magic and see if he can transform this human fish into a certified birdie hunter.  Here's what Phelps had to say about his participation in the show:

“I’ve always had a love of golf and dreamed of seeing the world by playing all the best courses. And my competitive side wants to play them well. I’m extremely motivated to develop my golf skills, and through Hank’s help I’ve already seen progress with my game and played some really cool golf courses. This is an exciting project with the Golf Channel and it’s been fun working with Hank to see how far we can take my game.”

Here's the official press release...

MICHAEL PHELPS SWINGS INTO NEXT CHAPTER FOR FIFTH SEASON OF ‘THE HANEY PROJECT,’ PREMIERING MONDAY, FEB. 25 AT 9 PM ET ON GOLF CHANNEL 

Most-Decorated Olympian of All Time Attempts to Improve Game under Guidance of Famed Swing Coach Hank Haney 

Phelps Follows in Footsteps of Former Celebrity Students, Including Charles Barkley, Ray Romano and Adam Levine 

ORLANDO, Fla. (Jan. 10, 2013) – Michael Phelps, the most-decorated Olympian of all time, is jumping out of the pool and on to the golf course with plans for his next chapter in life – to play the world’s greatest golf courses and improve his golf game under the watchful eye of Hank Haney – on The Haney Project, Golf Channel’s popular series debuting its fifth season on Monday, Feb. 25, at 9 p.m. ET.

The Haney Project will feature Phelps, who won an unprecedented 22 Olympic medals, including 18 gold medals, as he attempts to improve his game from tee to green with the guidance of Tiger Woods’ former swing coach over the course of eight weekly, 60-minute episodes. The series will reunite with the popular interview series, Feherty – also premiering on Monday, Feb. 25 at 10 p.m. ET – to form a potent primetime Monday lineup. Golf Channel’s slate of original series, including The Haney Project and Feherty, have contributed to back-to-back most-watched years, which earned Golf Channel the title of the fastest-growing network on television since joining the NBC Sports Group.

“I’ve always had a love of golf and dreamed of seeing the world by playing all the best courses. And my competitive side wants to play them well,” said Phelps. “I’m extremely motivated to develop my golf skills, and through Hank’s help I’ve already seen progress with my game and played some really cool golf courses. This is an exciting project with the Golf Channel and it’s been fun working with Hank to see how far we can take my game.”

“We can stand in awe of Michael’s Olympic accomplishments, but it’s hard to put ourselves in his shoes except when it comes to golf,” said Golf Channel President Mike McCarley. “Every golfer from a seasoned pro to a frustrated weekend warrior like the rest of us can play the same game with the same equipment and share the same frustrations and joys of the game. So, as Michael experiences the ups and downs of improving his game through The Haney Project, Golf Channel's audience can relate to his transition from Olympic icon to a guy simply trying not to spoil a good day on the golf course."

Phelps, who received a pegboard featuring the world’s greatest courses as a Christmas gift last year, will follow other celebrity students who have starred on The Haney Project, including NBA Hall-of-Famer Charles Barkley, Emmy Award-winner Ray Romano and Grammy Award-winning Maroon 5 front man and mentor on NBC’s “The Voice” Adam Levine. Phelps already has been filling the pegboard during the filming of the series, with stops in China, Scotland, Mexico and top spots throughout the United States.

Each episode of The Haney Project will follow Phelps on his quest to play better golf, whether it’s one-on-one instruction on the golf course with Haney or developing lessons he will be able to practice on his own. The series also will showcase Phelps in his own environment with cameos by famous friends and other experts who check in on him during his journey, including his mother Debbie Phelps and longtime swim coach Bob Bowman.

About Golf Channel
Golf Channel is a multimedia, golf entertainment and services company based in Orlando, Fla. The Golf Channel cable network, co-founded by Arnold Palmer in 1995 and part of the NBC Sports Group, is available in more than 120 million homes worldwide through cable, satellite and wireless companies. Exclusive partnerships with the world’s top tours allow Golf Channel to feature more live golf coverage than all other networks combined, added to a programming schedule distinguished by golf’s best news, instruction and original programming. Golf Channel’s digital platform of businesses is led by www.GolfChannel.com, a leading golf destination on the Internet, delivering unmatched coverage of the world of golf, as well as services that help the recreational player with how to play, what to play and where to play golf.

-NBC Sports Group-

Garcia and Johnson Prepare for the 2016 Olympics

We've discussed Olympic golf in previous articles and are excited to continue to shed light on this exciting topic.  In the below video Sergio Garcia and Dustin Johnson weigh in on their thoughts about golf rejoining the Olympic games after 100 years.  It's interesting to see from the players perspective what this would mean, playing as a representative of your country and being globally recognized as an Olympic Athlete!  More prestigious than winning one of golfs majors? I'm not sure...

Olympic great Phelps next up on 'Haney Project'

ORLANDO, Fla. – The most decorated Olympian in history has plans for the next stage of his career: to play the world’s greatest golf courses and improve his game under the eye of Hank Haney.

“The Haney Project” returns in February 2013 with Phelps, a 22-time Olympic medalist in swimming. The announcement was made Saturday by Phelps and Golf Channel president Mike McCarley. Production for the fifth season begins in September.

"I have traveled the world through swimming, but really haven’t had an opportunity to experience the world through my travels," Phelps said. "As I enter this next chapter of my life, I think I will be able to shift my competitiveness to anything I put my mind to and golf is one of the things I want to focus on.

“If I have a goal of dropping a certain amount of shots, or working on my short game or putting, those things are going to keep me motivated and fire me up and keep me excited. I want to play all the world's great golf courses, but I'd like to play them well. I'm excited about this project with Golf Channel and I’m looking forward to working with Hank and see what we can do together on the golf course."

Phelps received a pegboard featuring the world’s greatest golf courses as a Christmas gift last year and will follow other celebrity students who have starred on “The Haney Project”, including Charles Barkley, Ray Romano and Adam Levine.

Each episode will follow Phelps on his quest to play better golf, whether it’s one-on-one instruction on the golf course with Haney or developing lessons he will be able to practice on his own. The series also will showcase Phelps in his own environment with cameos by famous friends and other experts who check in on him during his journey, including his mother, Debbie Phelps, and his longtime swim coach Bob Bowman.

This article was written by the golfchannel.com Team

Golf in the Olympics, Here We Come

In just under four years, golf returns to The Olympics for the first time in over a century.

Where exactly do we stand, four years in advance?

That's an interesting question.

Scheduling figures to be a nightmare. In fact, it already appears to be.

The International Golf Federation promised no major tournaments during the Olympics. Problem is, the PGA Championship is normally played during this time. The PGA of America graciously said it will move the PGA Championship to the last week of July.

The R&A considered moving up the Open Championship a week earlier in 2016 to accommodate the Olympics. The problem with that scenario is that Wimbledon has been pushed back a week starting in 2015, so the two would be played the same week.

Apparently the English like watching both.

That doesn't speak to how screwed up the Playoffs, Ryder Cup and some LPGA Tour events, including possible majors, could become.

If the schedule was the only potential road bump, we'd be fine.

Peter Dawson, the head of the IGF, also hinted that the format could change. When originally proposed to the International Olympic Committee, golf would be an individual tournament with 60-player fields based on the world rankings for both the men and the women.

Countries would have two representatives unless a country had more than two players in the top 15 of the world rankings and in that case, four players could represent a country.

So, if the Olympic qualifying ended this week, the U.S. would send Tiger Woods, Webb Simpson, Bubba Watson and Jason Dufner. There would be no Phil Mickelson.

It's impossible to forecast the world rankings four years in advance. As a point of reference, the American team four years ago would've been Tiger, Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink and Steve Stricker.

There's nothing the IGF can do about which countries excel at golf. It does stink for competitive purposes that, for example, Mickelson won't be an Olympian, but the Argentinean squad of Andres Romero (ranked 112th) and Ricardo Gonzalez (No. 214) would be walking in the Opening Ceremonies.

The real change in the format could be in the move from a 72-hole, standard tournament, to something else. Could it be match play, or maybe a team format?

Knowing nothing about the politics of the IOC, but imagining they exist, it would probably be a tough sell to change the proposed format before the first tee goes into the ground in over 100 years.

Luckily, it seems enthusiasm is still high from the players.

Granted, Mr. Romero and Mr. Gonzalez might be in the field, but the main selling points from the IGF, to the IOC, the players, are on board.

"I hope I can qualify. I'll be -- four more years, I'll be 40 by then," Woods said before the start of The Open Championship. "It'll be something that I've never experienced, and I would love to be able to have a chance to represent my country in playing in the Olympic games."

Woods is on board, but he himself brings up a scary scenario.

Just a few weeks ago, Woods would've been on the outside looking in had these London Games already featured golf. With Mickelson in his mid 40s, the star power could be greatly dimmed by the time we hit Rio.

That's not even discussing the women.

The two biggest stars of this generation, Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa, retired before the primes of their careers. Michelle Wie might be the highest- profile female golfer in the sport, and this year has been a disaster.

Again, if I knew what happened four years in the future, I'd be sitting in casino with a Captain and ginger thinking about how big to build the moat at my mansion.

There's nothing you can do about who will be there, or who won't be. The allure of golf in The Olympics will be the newness.

It could be cool watching Woods walk into the Opening Ceremonies wearing some silly hat, filming the crowds with whatever over-priced phone, he and I will both have, and with his arm around LeBron James.

And if Woods won, seeing him with a gold medal around his neck with the national anthem playing would be a moment.

But in between, it's just a golf tournament.

Contrary to what we've seen in recent history, I have total faith that the IGF and the IOC will have everything ironed out by the time of the Rio games. For now, it looks a little dicey (didn't mention a land-ownership issue where they hope to start building the course in the fall of this year), but again, there's nothing we can do about that.

But these worries over 1,000 days before they're needed, don't matter.

The Olympics are important for golf.

It's not important if Woods completes an Olympic Slam, but it's a spectacular opportunity to grow the game of golf.

It'll all get worked out and if you push some events back a few weeks in the fall of 2016, tell players to get sweaters.

If Tiger Woods misses the Olympics, then Matt Kuchar will represent the U.S. and people will still watch.

If the 854th-ranked player makes the Olympics and the 22nd-ranked player, doesn't, so what. That's the majesty of the Olympics.

And it will be part of the majesty of golf in four years.

This article was published by Fox News.

History of Olympic Golf

As you're all probably aware, golf will once again, after a long layoff, be back in the Olympics.  In 2016, Rio Brazil will host a fleet of golfers all competing for their country with hopes of bring home an Olympic metal, something no golfer has done since 1904.

Lets take a look at some Olympic golf history...

1900 - Paris, France.  Back in 1900, the Olympics were quite different than we know them today.  Known as the Games of the II Olympiad, there were 19 sports, in which 1000 athletes competed for winners trophies.  Golf was played as a two round individual stroke play tournament, with both 18 hole rounds being played on the same day!  Charles Sands from the USA was the winner, shooting an 82 and an 85.  Golf wasn't the only sport that faded out of the Olympic arena, in 1900 other events also included, motorcycle racing, ballooning, croquet, basque pelota, swimming obstacle race and underwater swimming.





1904 - St. Louis, USA.  In 1904, golf made it's second and final appearance in the Olympic games.  Hosted in St. Louis Missouri at the Glen Echo Country Club, 77 golfers competed in two events.  The stoke play tournament format from the 1900 Olympics was replaced by a match play format, which was won by Canadian golfer George Lyon.  A team tournament was also added which was won by team USA.  This market the last time golf would be considered as an Olympic event until 2009 when it as decided that golf would be re-introduced as an Olympic sport in the 2016 Rio Olympics.




 It's really exciting for the game of golf to be back in the Olympics after more than 100 years.  Over the comings months and years leading up to the 2016 Rio Olympics we'll be keeping a close watch on the progress and publicity surrounding golf.   It leaves us with plenty to talk about before now and then such as:  What course will they play on?  How will golfers quality?  How many will compete?  What format will they use?  What are the course criteria for an Olympic golf course?  Stay tuned as we dive into these topics and more.

Golf Gets Thumbs Up for 2016 Olympics

COPENHAGEN – Golf has a tee time for 2016, and Tiger Woods can hardly wait. The sport returns to the Olympics for the first time since 1904 amid the spectacular backdrop of Rio de Janeiro's sand and sea, giving Woods the chance to do something even the great Jack Nicklaus never did — win Olympic gold.
Olympic officials had no sooner voted golf in — along with rugby — than Woods and his fellow players cheered their chance to finally compete on sport's biggest stage. They will compete for Olympic medals, but the greater promise is that the game catches on in countries where golfers are few and golf courses are even fewer.
"I think it's great for golf," Woods said from the Presidents Cup in San Francisco. "It's a perfect fit for the Olympics, and I think we are all looking forward to golf getting into the Olympics."
The vote for golf was expected, following a campaign by the sport's leaders to bring it back for the first time since George Lyon and the United States won gold medals at the Olympics in St. Louis. They promoted it as a way to bring a sport once reserved for the elite to the masses, even though it will add 120 men and women to a sports festival already considered bloated by some in the Olympic movement.
Nicklaus himself said Olympic gold would not trump the green jacket given the winner of the Masters or the claret jug awarded in the British Open, but would be seen as something hugely important in countries where the game now doesn't mean nearly as much.
"For most of the world it will be a new game, with a new goal to achieve an Olympic gold medal," Nicklaus said. "For a lot of the world, it's something that's unbelievably special as an opportunity."
Golf's boosters capped their push for inclusion with pitches by Ireland's Padraig Harrington, a three-time major championship winner, and Michelle Wie, who for several years was the world's best known female amateur player. Wie told the International Olympic Committee that putting golf in the games would give young girls everywhere something new to aspire to.
"I can dream about doing something that neither Tiger nor Ernie (Els) have ever done, and that is to make the final putt to win an Olympic gold medal," Wie said. "If this dream comes true, somewhere in the world there will be another 4-year-old who sees me on that podium and perhaps starts her own Olympic dream."
Golf was approved 63-27 with two abstentions, while rugby won near unanimous acclaim in an 81-8 vote with one abstention. They are the first sports added since triathlon and taekwondo joined the program for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
While golf was backed by a major push that included leaders of the sport from around the world as well as top players, rugby got the nod after a campaign of its own to show off the sport to a wider audience. The vote to include rugby sevens featuring 12 men's and women's teams, though, was celebrated in a similar manner.
"We were ecstatic and wanted to jump on the table, but we sort of restrained ourselves," former New Zealand rugby great Jonah Lomu told The Associated Press. "It was just fantastic for the game."
Woods, whose dominance of golf has made him one of the most recognized athletes in the world, will be 40 when the sport returns in Rio under a traditional format of 72 holes of stroke play for fields of 60 men and 60 women. He grew up determined to chase — and break — the record of 18 major championships won by Nicklaus. There were no thoughts of Olympic glory because there was no Olympic glory to think of.
But Woods is excited about the chance to do something he never imagined, and so are his fellow players.
"I think it's awesome," Sean O'Hair said. "You're going to be able to play for your country at the Olympic level. I think it's huge for the game. I think it's great for the Olympics. You know, I don't see any negatives to it. I think it's fantastic."
Both golf and rugby had to make some concessions to win their respective vote. Golf promised the IOC it would not stage any other major championships during the Olympics, while the Rugby Sevens World Cup will be canceled.
The vote was a reversal of the IOC's decision four years ago to reject golf and rugby for the 2012 Olympics, and brings the number of summer Olympic sports back to 28. There have been two openings on the program since baseball and softball were dropped in 2005 for the 2012 London Games.
The two sports share an Olympic history of sorts, both making their debuts at the second modern games in Paris in 1900. Golf was played again only in 1904, while 15-a-side rugby was in three more games, the last the 1924 Paris Olympics.
"Time will show your decision (on the sports) was very wise," IOC president Jacques Rogge told delegates. Rogge won a vote of his own when he was elected unopposed to a final four-year term.
Delegates were more wary about golf than they were about rugby, largely because of golf's reputation as a sport played by rich people at private country clubs. Some IOC members questioned how it could be successful in most countries because of the high cost of playing it, while others pointed out that some top clubs — including Augusta National — do not allow women as members.
"There are some serious problems with some clubs where major events are held, in terms of discrimination," American member Anita DeFrantz said, urging the IOC to "avoid going down a road that may be harmful to our image."
In the end, though, the promise that adding golf to the games would make it more available to the masses won the day. Left unsaid was that marketing the sport to countries where it is not widely played — China, for instance — could lead to even bigger TV contracts for tournaments, higher purses for players, and more golf course developments.
"Anything that grows the game, gets more people playing the game and more people watching the game, impacts all of those things," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said.

Golf Proposed for 2016 Olympics

LAURA WALDEN / Sports Features Communications
Golf brought in star player heavyweights Colin Montgomerie and Annika Sorenstam to state their case for Games inclusion before the IOC executive board. The International Golf Federation has worked hard to dispel the idea that its top level multi-million dollar players might not be available to play at the Games.
Montgomerie, Europe's Ryder Cup captain, pledged his full intent to play at the Olympics should golf make the vote and also spoke on behalf of other top players. The notion of being the first Olympic medal winner in 117 years was compelling motivation.
IGF executive director Ty Votaw said: "We feel it was very important for the IOC executive to be able to personally hear from two of the game’s most highly respected players in Annika and Colin.
"We also presented a film featuring 16 of the game’s most prominent players including current world No1-ranked Lorena Ochoa and Tiger Woods, as well as IGF global ambassador Jack Nicklaus describing the compelling reasons why golf should be reinstated as an Olympic sport after an absence of more than a century."
Sorenstam, winner of 10 women's majors, said: "I can't think of a tougher championship. You only get a chance to win once every four years rather than four times a year. The moments when you represent your own country are the highlights of your career. It doesn't happen very often. There is something special about that."
Golf now numbers 121 national federations around the world and has expanded its top tour organizations to 19: The Asian Tour, Australian Ladies Professional Golf Tour, Canadian Professional Golf Tour, Japan Golf Tour Organisation, The Ladies Professional Golfers Association of Japan, Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association, Korean Professional Golf Association, Ladies European Tour, Ladies Asian Golf Tour Ltd., PGA TOUR of Australasia, The Sunshine Tour and The Tour de las Americas.
The IGF team stressed the commitment of the member organizations to be flexible with their summer programs to enable the best players to be at the Games. It also put up for consideration the idea of 72-hole individual stroke play for both men and women. In case of a tie for first, second or third place a three hole play-off is being recommended to determine medal winners.
The IGF also proposed a group of 60 players for each of the men's and women's competitions, using the official world golf rankings to determine eligibility. This way the top 15 world-ranked players would be eligible for the Games, regardless of the number of players from a given country.
Beyond the top 15, players would be eligible based on world ranking, with a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top 15. This proposal could ensure that there are 30 countries in the men’s and women’s competitions from all continents.
Golf was originally played in the Olympics in 1904 but only the United States and Canada were in the competition. Since then the worldwide golf movement has expanded dramatically.
Golf is in the bid with six other sports - baseball, karate, roller sports, rugby, softball, and squash - to gain a place on the 2016 Olympic programme. The vote will be held late in the meetings in October at the IOC session in Copenhagen.