TORONTO -- As Colombian golfers Mariajo Uribe and Marcelo Rozo walked away from the Angus Glen Golf Club on Sunday with gold medals in the women's and men's events at the Pan Am Games, they wore something else that signaled what's to come for the sport on the international stage: Colombian team caps and shirts that bore the iconic Olympic rings.
With the first-ever golf competition wrapping up here, Uribe, Rozo and many other golfers will now set their sights on Rio in 2016, when golf will be included in the Olympic program for the first time since 1904.
"I love it," Uribe said. "Coming from a country where there are only two Olympic gold medals in our whole history, it's a good opportunity for me. I'm really excited about it and it's a big deal back home."
Should golf be a sport in the Olympics, though, especially when the Games are already overloaded with events? Or, more specifically, does it need to be an Olympic sport, given that golf features tournaments nearly every week with international players competing against one another for enormous paychecks? Is seeing Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Bubba Watson in the Olympics any different than seeing them at St. Andrews or, for that matter, the Waste Management Phoenix Open?
We do see that regular international competition in other Olympic sports, as well. "Other Olympic sports like tennis are played year-round," Trinidad and Tobago golfer Monifa Sealy said. "I don't know why golf shouldn't be in the Olympics, too."
No one complains about possibly seeing Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova at the Olympics after seeing Williams beat her everywhere else as well. But seeing the best athletes compete on a world stage is always good.
"The Olympics is an entity of its own, a world sporting stage, and to leave golf out of it is kind of a crime," U.S. golfer Lee McCoy said. "It's one of the most followed sports in the world. It's not like it's just an American thing, it's not like I'm talking about a sport [played] only in my backyard. I'm not talking and trying to get American football put in there. I think it's a big part of the sporting world and deserves to be in there as much as anything else."
That said, the 2016 Games are probably not the best venue for golf's return to the Olympics (London 2012 would have been much better).
Rio has been forced to build its own course, which is never cheap, especially for a country that has significant financial issues. The city mayor and environmentalists have clashed over the building of the course. And, in terms of popularity, golf doesn't come close to soccer or beach volleyball.
"Golf is not really popular at all," Brazilian golfer Clara Teixeira said. "We have only two golf courses in Rio. It's growing in Sao Paulo, and in the countryside, but we're still smaller than Canada and the U.S. and all these other countries we're competing against here."
Exposing non-fans to the sport though, golfers say, is one of the important benefits of the Olympics. Exposure provides interest and opportunities to help grow the sport in other countries.
"There will be a lot of countries represented there," U.S. golfer Beau Hossler said. "In tournaments like the Masters, even though it's an international tournament, there are probably only eight or 10 countries represented. I don't know what the number is for the Olympics, but it will probably be 30-plus. That's pretty incredible stuff and I think it will inspire people watching on TV to go buy some clubs."
Well, if they can afford them. And the greens fees.
It's not like equestrian or modern pentathlon are inexpensive, either; but those are Olympic sports, and the Olympics carry a cache that is difficult to match.
"The Olympics will give opportunities to players for countries like Bolivia," Uribe said. "Whether or not they're on the LPGA Tour, they'll still get to play with the best players. And for us, we get to hang out with the other athletes and be in that environment. We're not a team sport, so [being at the Pan Am Games] feels like being in college again."
A lot like college. McCoy said the athletes are sharing dorm rooms here, which might be something McIlroy will avoid in Rio even though the Northern Irishman will likely be excited to hit the course and play for a gold medal. (U.S. NBA stars, including LeBron James, did not stay in the Olympic village for the 2012 London Olympics.)
Winning an Olympic medal in golf probably won't be like winning a green jacket at Augusta, but neither is a gold medal in Olympic cycling the same as a yellow jersey in the Tour de France. Some people might not be excited to see golf in the Olympics, but it's a global sport that will hold more appeal than trampoline or synchronized swimming.
"Everyone is really excited about it and working hard to get there," Rozo said. "It's about one year ahead of us, but this is a great step. I'm just going to keep working, do my best everywhere I go, lift my flag all the way to the top and try to make my country proud."