PGA Tour executive Ty Votaw has been named to lead the effort by the International Golf Federation (IGF) to have golf included as an Olympic sport in the 2016 Games.
Votaw will serve as executive director of a special IGF committee made up of several industry organizations pushing for the Olympic designation. They include The R&A, U.S. Golf Association, PGA Tour, PGA of America, LPGA, PGA This Jacobsen-Hardy course is the centerpiece of Hammock Bay Golf Club, one of the projects impacted by WCI Communities’ bankruptcy filing. European Tour and Augusta National Golf Club.
The International Olympic Committee will vote in October 2009 on whether to add two sports to the lineup of events in 2016. Golf is one of seven sports under consideration.
Votaw, a former LPGA commissioner, also will continue in his role as PGA Tour executive vice president of communications.
Steve Mona, executive director of the World Golf Foundation, said designation of golf as an Olympic event will generate funding for grow-the-game efforts in countries where golf is not a traditional sport.