Woods, Mickelson could be headed to Olympics in 2016

Imagine Tiger Woods standing on the gold-medal podium. Phil Mickelson strolling through the Olympic village. Ernie Els and Vijay Singh swapping stories at the Closing Ceremony.

For the first time in more than a century, golf might be part of the Olympics.

The sport, last played in the Olympics in 1904, will be considered for instatement in the 2016 Summer Games during an International Olympic Committee assembly in October 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Six other sports - baseball, karate, roller sports, rugby, softball and squash - will present their case to the IOC, which is expected to approve 26 sports and has a 28-sport ceiling. Baseball and softball are being contested at the Beijing Games in August but not in London in 2012.

Golf's bid for the Olympics is backed by PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem and U.S. Golf Association executive director David Fay, who helps run the International Golf Federation.

"While there remain questions to be answered and issues to be resolved, I believe the time is now right to move forward," Finchem wrote last month on a blog on pgatour.com.

Finchem and Fay maintain the prospect of increased worldwide exposure outweighs the potential for scheduling conflicts with high-paying tournaments and the possibility elite players such as Woods would skip the Olympics.

In 2000, Woods called the Olympics a low priority for golf's leaders. Fay wants to change that notion.

"The most important thing is to get the professional bodies behind it," Fay told The Associated Press. "Then it's good ol' fashioned lobbying. And we're willing to do that."

Golf nearly gained entry to the 1996 Atlanta Games, with a proposed 72-hole, stroke-play tournament involving 50 men and 50 women from at least 17 countries. Players would have been selected based on world ranking.

Hope faded after Anita DeFrantz, an IOC member and U.S. Olympic Committee board member, led a charge against Augusta National Golf Club, noting its lack of black and female members. Golf failed in a 2005 attempt for London inclusion.

Champions Tour player Tom Watson isn't enthused about Olympic golf, saying there's plenty of excitement in four majors, three World Golf Championships and the $10 million FedEx Cup.

"They are making a drive to have golf in the Olympics, and I disagree with that," he said. "What they are trying to do is get more people playing golf, more people understanding that golf is a sport they should play. ... We have our Olympics. We have our major championships. To add another layer in the Olympics, I think is the wrong thing to do.

"How about making the whole Olympics for amateurs only like it used to be? It's ridiculous.

"Pro basketball players playing in the Olympics? Come on."

Staff writer Kate Crandall contributed to this story.