DUBLIN (Ohio), May 28: Approval for the return of golf to the Olympic Games may be closer after a meeting between the sport’s main organizing bodies and International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge.

The US PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said Tuesday that golf made a strong first impression in the informal meeting last week.

Finchem was joined by European Tour chief George O’Grady, LPGA Tour commissioner Carolyn Bivens, US Golf Association executive director David Fay and Royal & Ancient chief executive Peter Dawson. They were told the steps leading to the IOC decision next October and what golf executives have to do to make their case.

“It was important that the IOC saw the game was united, which they were impressed with,” Finchem said. “That got accomplished. It’s a long way, and we have other sports competing for the same spots. We like to think we’re what they want because we’re a sport that’s universal.”

The earliest golf could be readmitted is for the 2016 Olympics, and Finchem is hoping those games will be hosted in Chicago, with Tiger Woods securing gold for the United States.

Finchem was quick to note that Woods — who would be 40 in 2016 — has a strong history in Chicago, where he has won two PGA Championships and four PGA Tour events.

“His knee aside, he’s such a good athlete, you’ve got to believe he’s going to be competitive,” Finchem said. “And there’s a lot of interest in whether he plays. But the bigger question is the long-term role of golf in the Olympics.”

He also mentioned a long list of courses Chicago can offer.

The biggest obstacle will be scheduling Olympic golf among the last two majors and the tour’s FedEx Cup finale. Finchem suggested one possibility of the men and women competing over separate weeks. The four playoff events for the FedEx Cup already are being rearranged this year for the Ryder Cup.

“We’re not really doing it for golf in the US anyway,” Finchem said. “It’s for growing the game around the world and something we can all do together.—AP