- Title: SINGAPORE: GOLF - Phil Mickelson welcomes golf becoming an Olympic sport
- Date: 28th October 2009
- Summary: SINGAPORE (OCTOBER 27, 2009) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SENTOSA SINGAPORE OPEN GOLF COURSE VARIOUS OF MAN PUTTING NAMES ON TOURNAMENT SCORE BOARD PHIL MICKELSON'S NAME ON SCORE BOARD GOLF COURSE PHIL MICKELSON PLAYING A STROKE VARIOUS OF PHIL MICKELSON WALKING ON COURSE MICKELSON PREPARING TO PUTT MICKELSON PUTTING MICKELSON SHAKING HANDS WITH PADRAIG HARRINGTON MICKESLON ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) PHIL MICKELSON, SAYING: "We shortened our season the PGA tour and by having our season end when it does, which is a month and a half, two months then it had been, it allows many of the top players to play internationally, it allows me to come here and compete, and I'm hoping that, well next week in Shanghai, we'll have Tiger Woods playing at the HSBC Champions. And, so it is helping to get some of the best players in the world to different parts of the world. I'm hoping that this will also help grow the game in addition to the Olympics." SINGAPORE OPEN TROPHY MICKELSON AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROFESSIONAL GOLF PLAYER, PHIL MICKELSON, SAYING: "It is the greatest thing that can happen to our sport, it will allow the growth of our game on a global level, and with the Olympic foundations throughout all the countries in the world, I believe that we will have moneys put toward the growth of t he game, educating juniors, teaching juniors the proper fundamentals, I think that it will finally get the recognition, the game of golf, the recognition that it deserves." MICKELSON AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROFESSIONAL GOLF PLAYER, PHIL MICKELSON, SAYING: "Cancer affects everybody in the world, everybody knows somebody or has been affected by it. And we're no different, we're going through, like so many hundreds of thousands of women throughout the world and I've been, become much more empathetic to that." SINGAPORE OPEN GOLF COURSE PLAYER PLAYING A STROKE SINGAPORE OPEN TRIBUNES
- Embargoed: 12th November 2009 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Singapore
- Country: Singapore
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVAYR1AJ96ZGQ97J22J22HV2J5N
- Story Text: World number two Phil Mickelson says Olympic vote is the best thing to happen to the sport.
World number two Phil Mickelson calls golf's acceptance into the Olympic Games as " the greatest thing thing that can happen to our sport."
Mickelson thinks the inclusion of golf into the Rio Olympics in 2016 " will allow the growth of our game on a global level, and with the Olympic foundations throughout all the countries in the world, I believe that we will have moneys put toward the growth of t he game, educating juniors, teaching juniors the proper fundamentals, I think that it will finally get the recognition, the game of golf, the recognition that it deserves."
The popular Californian, who cut down his appearances in 2009 after his wife and mother were both diagnosed with breast cancer, was speaking on the eve of the Singapore Open.
"Cancer affects everybody in the world, " he said. "Everybody knows somebody or has been affected by it. And we're no different, we're going through, like so many hundreds of thousands of women throughout the world and I've been, become much more empathetic to that."
Mickelson, who is winding down his schedule with an Asian double that takes in the Singapore Open and next week's HSBC Champions in Shanghai, feels the development of golf internationally will benefit by the abridged PGA Tour season.
He said : "We shortened our season the PGA tour and by having our season end when it does, which is a month and a half, two months then it had been, it allows many of the top players to play internationally, it allows me to come here and compete, and I'm hoping that, well next week in Shanghai, we'll have Tiger Woods playing at the HSBC Champions. And, so it is helping to get some of the best players in the world to different parts of the world. I'm hoping that this will also help grow the game in addition to the Olympics." - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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