 Tiger Woods in action in last week's Masters at Augusta |
Padraig Harrington, Colin Montgomerie and Tiger Woods are among 18 players to have given their support for golf to be included as an Olympic sport. The players have all sent letters of support to International Olympic Committee members from their countries. The campaign is being organised by the International Golf Federation, who hope to get the sport included in 2016. Joint secretary Peter Dawson said: "It is imperative that the best players support our effort." Golf is one of seven sports being considered for inclusion in the Olympics. The others are baseball, karate, roller sports, rugby sevens, softball and squash. The IOC can only add a maximum of two from that list, and are due to make their decision in August.  | It is important to underscore the fact that 60m people golf in nearly 120 countries Peter Dawson
IGF joint secretary |
As well as the letters, the players also included a 32-page dossier on why golf should be included in the Games, containing information on how many people play the sport around the world. Dawson, who is also chief executive of the The Royal and Ancient Golf Club (R&A), added: "This personal outreach by international players is a continuation of our effort to have the best chance of being selected. "It also is important for us to demonstrate the international nature of golf, underscoring the fact that 60m people play the sport in nearly 120 countries." | MATT SLATER'S BLOG |
Jack Nicklaus and Annika Sorenstam, global ambassadors for the campaign, have sent the same documents to IOC representatives from 75 other countries. Golf last was an Olympic sport in 1904 in St Louis when the United States and Canada were the only countries competing. The other players who are sending the material to their respective IOC representatives are: Karrie Webb (Aus); Mike Weir (Can); Camilo Villegas (Col); Vijay Singh (Fij); Gwladys Nocera (Fra); Bernhard Langer (Ger); Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind); Ai Miyazato (Jpn); KJ Choi (Kor); Lorena Ochoa (Mex); Suzann Pettersen (Nor); Ernie Els (SA); Sergio Garcia (Spa); Yani Tseng (Tpe).
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