Rio Olympic Organizers Set Deadline for Golf Architect Applications


The organizers of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro have asked that golf architects interested in bidding on the new course for the Games submit their proposals this month. The winner will be selected December 23rd of this year.

Golf is returning to the Olympics for the first time since the St. Louis Games in 1904. The sport was reinstated by an International Olympic Committee vote in 2009 after concerted lobbying from members of the golf industry. It's also guaranteed to be played in the 2020 Games; that site has not been determined.

The Rio Olympic requested that companies or individual architects send in their applications by October 28. In its announcement on Monday the committee also noted that the course must also leave a legacy to Rio and become "an important tool for youth transformation through sport."

Several top names have expressed interest in designing what will become a high-profile course. That group includes heavyweights such as Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Greg Norman. Famed golfers Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa - both now retired from competition - have also thrown their hats in the ring.

The winning bidder must have an office legally established in Rio and will be paid $300,000 for the design of the course, which will be built in the Barra da Tijuca neighborhood, the site of many Olympic venues.