Tiger and Olympic gold

An obstacle to golf becoming an Olympic sport, John Hopkins of the Times of London writes, is the game's ruling bodies "convincing the authorities that there is real interest among its competitors in competing in an Olympic Games. Does Tiger Woods really want to play is a typical question? What about Phil Mickelson, currently the world No. 2, or Sergio Garcia?"

Hopkins reports that a former rhythmic gymnastics gold medalist, Russia's Vera Shimanskaya, is now pursuing a career in professional golf and ran into Woods in a gym recently. She asked him whether he wanted to be an Olympic gold medalist in golf.

"I'll have to think about it," Woods replied, according to Hopkins' report.

"Not exactly a ringing endorsement is it?" Hopkins writes.

-- John Strege