Tiger sets eyes on Rio Olympic medal

Tiger Woods has a short-term goal of winning The Open this week – and a long-term one of claiming Olympic gold in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

“I hope I can qualify,” said Woods today when asked about golf’s return to the Games after an absence of more than 100 years.

“I’ll be 40 by then. It will be something that I’ve never experienced and I would love to be able to have a chance to represent my country.”

Golf, which lost out in an earlier bid to be included in London this summer, has decided on 60-man and 60-woman fields for Brazil in four years’ time.

It will be the world’s top 15 and then the rankings would be used to determine the leading two players from different countries, so Woods would qualify on two counts – he is America’s highest-ranked player at fourth in the world.