October 9, 2009

COPENHAGEN (AP)—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.”