Golf talk missing in Olympic report

For those of you who thought golf was a shoo-in for the Olympics in 2016, you might want to think again after reading the International Olympic Committee’s Evaluation Commission report for the 2016 Games. The technical report, issued last week, is a tool designed to assist the IOC members in making their final decision for one of the four bidding cities: Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro.

In the 98-page report, the word "golf'' was not mentioned once, meaning it wasn’t part of the discussion or evaluation process during the last two years. Of course, rugby wasn’t mentioned in the report, either, but rugby can be played on one of the existing Olympic venues, while golf will need its own venue. And unlike rugby, the venue for golf has a lot to do with the interest level and quality of the event.

So while golf still might have a good chance, the fact that the report did not address golf or potential venues for golf cannot be a positive for the sport as it continues its bid to join the games by 2016.