TIGER WOODS is hoping to make his case for a spot at the 2020 Olympics as part of his golfing comeback.
An 11-year wait for a major title was ended in April as Woods won The Masters following a tumultuous time with injuries and personal problems.
However Woods faces a fight to qualify for next year’s event in Tokyo with only 60 players qualifying in total – and the United States restricted to their top four men.
As things stand, the American is ninth in the world but sixth of his countrymen.
Woods said:“Making the Olympic team is a big goal.
“I don’t see myself having too many opportunities other than next year. Four years from now, at the next Olympic Games, I’ll be 48 years old.
“To be one of the top Americans at that age is going to be tough.
“I went to my first Olympic Games when it was in Los Angeles [in 1984].
“So now to have the opportunity to be a part of the Olympics – because golf in my lifetime wasn’t a part of the Olympics – is an important aspect for us and the growth of the game.
“The game has become so global, and so reaching, that I think the Olympic Games is a great extension of that and I’d like to be a part of it.”
The golf tournament at Rio de Janeiro’s Olympic Games in 2016 came amid Woods’ injury struggles and was marred by a number of top players rejecting the chance to play due to Zika virus fears.
However those who turned up enjoyed a positive event, the first such tournament since 1904.
Great Britain’s Justin Rose took home the men’s gold medal while Inbee Park secured top place on the podium for South Korea’s women’s team.