THE end of the 2009 season marked a special occasion for the game, as it was announced golf will be included in the 2016 Olympic Games. While this is great news for fans and golf officials alike, no-one was more thrilled than the players themselves to learn they will be all vying for that prestigious gold medal.
Golfer Pacific decided to kick off the New Year by getting the best players in the world to share their thoughts on this history-making decision and what it will mean to them as they kick-start their long-term preparations right now in 2010.
TIGER WOODS
I think it’s great for golf. It’s a perfect fi t for the Olympics, and I think we are all looking forward to golf getting into the Olympics. We as golfers have never had it, so this will be a new experience for golfers who get to participate
in the Olympics. Having talked to other athletes who have gotten a chance to experience the Olympics, they have absolutely loved it and had the greatest time.
PHIL MICKELSON
EVERYBODY is very excited that golf became an Olympic sport, and we are working hard on our games so that over the next six years we are able to make the team and represent our country. I think this is important for the game of golf. It’s important for the growth of the game of golf and it’s exciting what it will mean on a worldwide level for this great game. And for us to be able to showcase the game in the Olympics is a unique opportunity.
JACK NICKLAUS
THIS is a great day for the game of golf. I want to congratulate all those who worked and campaigned so passionately over the last couple of years to make this day a reality. It is obvious that the unifi ed voice of golf was not only heard but embraced by the International Olympic Committee. When I was asked to be a part of this global effort, I was delighted to be involved because I believe so strongly in our game and what it represents—honesty, integrity, sportsmanship and goodwill. All of us who have spent our lives playing and enjoying the game of golf fully understand why it deserved a spot on the Olympic program, and now the sport I have always called the greatest game of all can be shared with the rest of the world on the greatest stage in sports.
CAMILO VILLEGAS
TO have golf voted into the 2016 Olympic Games adds to the wonderful news that the games would be played in South America. I am very happy that my fellow players and I will have a chance to experience the Olympic Games as competitors instead of spectators.
ANGEL CABRERA
I’M delighted to hear golf was elected to the Olympic Games. We have the number one athlete in the world (Tiger Woods) in our sport, so why shouldn’t golf be an Olympic sport?
RYO ISHIKAWA
AS A golfer, I am honored. By having golf be a part of the Olympics, golfers will be more interested in the Olympics, and then the sport of golf will get noticed more as well. I am looking forward to playing golf in the Games.
STEWART CINK
IT’S great for golf. I don’t know if it’s great for me or not because I’ll be 43 and I might be over the hill by then. But it’s exciting. I think that when a sport gains Olympic status, it gets a lot more attention, and national sports institutes tend to pay a lot more attention, so it will only do good for the game of golf. I see the Olympics as the pinnacle of all the sports that are involved. To perform under that kind of pressure has always been sort of the dream come true for any athlete.
MIKE WEIR
HAVING golf added to the 2016 Olympic Games is awesome news. It will accelerate the growth of the game globally. It means a world class athlete like Ryo Ishikawa, a teammate of mine at the Presidents Cup, can have the opportunity to win an Olympic medal for his country, something none of us in golf would have thought possible when we were growing up in the sport. It also opens the door for so many kids around the world and in Canada who may be playing junior golf today and competing for a gold medal in seven years.
ANTHONY KIM
IT just means the game is going to grow and it can never hurt to have younger kids playing in the Olympics, and having golf be a part of it. It’s going to be a big deal and hopefully it will inspire a bunch of kids from a lot of diff erent countries to take up the game and make the game better. It’s going to be a tremendous honor whenever you get a chance to represent your country.
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