The executive board of the International Olympic Committee today voted to recommend that golf be added to the lineup of sports for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Along with golf, rugby was also recommended. Getting passed over were baseball, softball, squash, karate and roller sports.
This is no surprise - the major golf bodies (USGA, R&A, PGA, LPGA, Augusta National, European Tour, et.al.) have been lobbying for months. And just a couple days ago, Tiger Woods said he will play in the 2016 Olympics if golf is included. If the IOC board was on the fence about golf before then, Tiger's declaration surely knocked them off on the side of inclusion for golf.
There's one more hurdle for golf to pass before it is officially added to the 2016 Olympics. The full International Olympic Committee, with more than 100 members, must vote to accept golf and rugby. That vote is likely just a formality - although with the IOC, you just never know what might happen. That vote will take place on Oct. 9.
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