Mickelson: Olympics 'very important' to the game of golf

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PGA TOUR commissioner Tim Finchem would like to see golf become an Olympic sport by the 2016 Olympics. Phil Mickelson, the No. 2 ranked player in the world, is also an advocate for that move.

Finchem

"I do think that having golf become an Olympic sport is a very important thing for the game of golf, and I would definitely play if given the opportunity to represent my country," Mickelson said last week in remarks made prior to the start of the Masters.

Augusta National Golf Club chairman Billy Payne also backs the plan for golf becoming an Olympic sport. Payne was the president and CEO of the Atlanta Committee for the 1996 Olympic Games.

"I'm a great advocate of golf being part of the (Olympic) program and think it belongs there," Payne said recently. "Once a sport is officially accepted into the Olympic program, it becomes entitled to distribution through their committees, to some of the proceeds of finance generated by the Olympics. That would be a way of importantly introducing the game to a lot of countries."

Mickelson

Mickelson says the game of golf must grow on an international level.

"As soon as it becomes an Olympic sport, a lot of those Olympic Foundation revenue dollars will be going to get kids from other countries involved in the game of golf so that they are competitive at the Olympics. I think that would be the biggest step we could make in helping growing the game," Mickelson said.

"We seem to be stagnant in the growth; we lose as many golfers as we gain each year in the United States. If we could make this an Olympic sport on the international sport, I think golf could really grow as a sport."

Making golf an Olympic sport has been a discussion for quite some time in the golfing community. The sport used to be in the Olympics, with George Lyon of Canada winning the last golf medal in golf in 1904. Golf was then dropped as an Olympic sport.

When asked a few years ago about golf in the Olympics, Australian Greg Norman told a British golf Website: "Golf is one of the most global games out there, among the top five in the world. So why not include it?"

In the same article, Ireland's Padraig Harrington added: "Some golfers say we now have four majors and that is enough. But the four majors were not the four majors 70 years ago. You never know, in 50 years maybe the Olympics will be the No. 1 major. It has to start somewhere. I would put it on my schedule now."

David Fay, the Executive Director of the United States Golf Association, is another who believes golf would benefit by being an Olympic sport.

"You have to think globally on this one," he said a few years ago. "Golf in the Olympics could grow the game worldwide, particularly in places where it's not that big. Take countries like Croatia or Russia. In order to jump-start interest and support of the sport in these countries, you need money. The best way to get that is through two sources -- your government or the national Olympic committee. For these countries, there's not substitute for it being an Olympic medal sport."