Approval for the return of golf to the Olympic Games may be closer after a meeting between the sport's main organizing bodies and International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge.
The US PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said on Tuesday that golf made a strong first impression in the informal meeting last week.
Finchem was joined by European Tour chief George O’Grady, LPGA Tour commissioner Carolyn Bivens, US Golf Association executive director David Fay and Royal & Ancient chief executive Peter Dawson.
They were told the steps leading to the IOC decision in October and what golf executives have to do to make their case.
“It was important that the IOC saw the game was united, which they were impressed with,” Finchem said.
“It’s a long way, and we have other sports competing for the same spots. We like to think we’re what they want because we’re a sport that’s universal,” he said.
The earliest golf could be readmitted is for the 2016 Olympics, and Finchem is hoping those games will be hosted in Chicago, with Tiger Woods securing gold for the US.
Finchem was quick to note that Woods has a strong history in Chicago, where he has won two PGA Championships.
Golf was played in the 1900 and 1904 Olympics before being dropped.
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