Australia officials hope golf addition to Commonwealth Games will aid popularity – Insidethegames.biz

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Australian golf has welcomed the news that the sport has been added to the programme for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Victoria.
Golf is one of the three sports due to make its Commonwealth Games debut, alongside costal rowing and BMX racing.
Golf returned to the Olympic programme at Rio 2016 after a gap of more than 100 years and was also part of the re-arranged Games in Tokyo last year.
But its addition to the Commonwealth Games was unexpected.
The addition of golf has been driven by the International Golf Federation (IGF), which also runs the Olympic golf competition and the World Amateur Teams Championship, and the three peak bodies in Australian Golf – the PGA of Australia, the WPGA and Golf Australia.
“This is a great win for golf,” James Sutherland, chief executive of Golf Australia, said.
“This announcement validates golf’s increasing popularity and the enormous growth that the sport has enjoyed over the last three years.
“The golf industry has embarked on an aggressive growth strategy that involves bringing new people to the game. 
“The Commonwealth Games in 2026 will provide a huge platform to further demonstrate golf’s appeal as a sport for all.
“Together with the PGA of Australia and WPGA Tour, Golf Australia looks forward to working with the IGF, CGF and State Government to deliver a wonderful spectacle and we encourage innovative thinking around a competition format that is inclusive of men and women, and attractive to golf fans new and old.”
Three of the world’s men’s and women’s current top 10 could be eligible to compete in the Commonwealth Games.
They include Australia’s number two ranked and 2022 Open champion Cameron Smith and New Zealand’s Olympic silver and bronze medallist Lydia Ko.
A venue and format for the Commonwealth Games golf men’s and women’s competitions are yet to be revealed, however, with a qualifying structure to be determined in due course.
A number of regional golf facilities have already expressed interest in hosting the tournaments, with Victoria 2026 due to take place alongside regional hubs in Geelong, Ballarat, Gippsland and Bendigo.
“This is a terrific result for our sport,” said Gavin Kirkman, chief executive of the PGA of Australia.
“It’s going to provide playing opportunities for our young stars from around the Commonwealth.
“We absolutely love golf in the Olympic Games and we’re sure that the sport being in the Commonwealth Games will be important for golf going forward as well.
“It’s a big stage, the Commonwealth Games, and we’re privileged to be finally on it.”
Karen Lunn, chief executive of the WPGA Tour, was also enthusiastic about the addition of golf to the Commonwealth Games, due to take place between March 17 and 29 in 2006.
“We’re really excited in particular to see some of our fantastic female players compete alongside the men on this stage,” she said.
“These are the kinds of platforms that we’re seeking to find for our sport, and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to make it happen so quickly.”
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As the world begins to emerge from the COVID crisis, insidethegames.biz would like to invite you to help us on our journey by funding our independent journalism. Your vital support would mean we can continue to report so comprehensively on the Olympic Movement and the events that shape it. It would mean we can keep our website open for everyone. Last year, nearly 25 million people read insidethegames.biz, making us by far the biggest source of independent news on what is happening in world sport. 
Every contribution, however big or small, will help maintain and improve our worldwide coverage in the year ahead. Our small and dedicated team were extremely busy last year covering the re-arranged Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, an unprecedented logistical challenge that stretched our tight resources to the limit. 
The remainder of 2022 is not going to be any less busy, or less challenging. We had the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing, where we sent a team of four reporters, and coming up are the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the Summer World University and Asian Games in China, the World Games in Alabama and multiple World Championships. Plus, of course, there is the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Unlike many others, insidethegames.biz is available for everyone to read, regardless of what they can afford to pay. We do this because we believe that sport belongs to everybody, and everybody should be able to read information regardless of their financial situation. While others try to benefit financially from information, we are committed to sharing it with as many people as possible. The greater the number of people that can keep up to date with global events, and understand their impact, the more sport will be forced to be transparent.
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Duncan Mackay is the founding editor of insidethegames.biz, the world’s leading and most influential independent Olympic news website. He was voted the British Sports Writer of the Year in 2004, British News Story of the Year in 2004 and British Sports Internet Reporter of the Year in 2009. Mackay is one of Britain’s best-connected journalists and during the 16 years he worked at The Guardian and The Observer he regularly broke several major exclusive stories. He was also the only newspaper journalist in Britain to correctly predict that London would win its bid for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
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Support insidethegames.biz for as little as £10
For nearly 15 years now, insidethegames.biz has been at the forefront of reporting fearlessly on what happens in the Olympic Movement. As the first website not to be placed behind a paywall, we have made news about the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Commonwealth Games and other major events more accessible than ever to everybody. 
insidethegames.biz has established a global reputation for the excellence of its reporting and breadth of its coverage. For many of our readers from more than 200 countries and territories around the world the website is a vital part of their daily lives. The ping of our free daily email alert, sent every morning at 6.30am UK time 365 days a year, landing in their inbox, is as a familiar part of their day as their first cup of coffee.
Even during the worst times of the COVID-19 pandemic, insidethegames.biz maintained its high standard of reporting on all the news from around the globe on a daily basis. We were the first publication in the world to signal the threat that the Olympic Movement faced from the coronavirus and have provided unparalleled coverage of the pandemic since. 
As the world begins to emerge from the COVID crisis, insidethegames.biz would like to invite you to help us on our journey by funding our independent journalism. Your vital support would mean we can continue to report so comprehensively on the Olympic Movement and the events that shape it. It would mean we can keep our website open for everyone. Last year, nearly 25 million people read insidethegames.biz, making us by far the biggest source of independent news on what is happening in world sport. 
Every contribution, however big or small, will help maintain and improve our worldwide coverage in the year ahead. Our small and dedicated team were extremely busy last year covering the re-arranged Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, an unprecedented logistical challenge that stretched our tight resources to the limit. 
The remainder of 2022 is not going to be any less busy, or less challenging. We had the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing, where we sent a team of four reporters, and coming up are the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the Summer World University and Asian Games in China, the World Games in Alabama and multiple World Championships. Plus, of course, there is the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Unlike many others, insidethegames.biz is available for everyone to read, regardless of what they can afford to pay. We do this because we believe that sport belongs to everybody, and everybody should be able to read information regardless of their financial situation. While others try to benefit financially from information, we are committed to sharing it with as many people as possible. The greater the number of people that can keep up to date with global events, and understand their impact, the more sport will be forced to be transparent.
Support insidethegames.biz for as little as £10 – it only takes a minute. If you can, please consider supporting us with a regular amount each month. Thank you.
Read more

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