Golf was featured in the Summer Olympic Games official programme in 1900 and 1904. At the IOC session in Copenhagen in October 2009, the IOC decided to reinstate this event for the 2016 Summer Olympics. The International Golf Federation is governing body for golf at the Olympic Games. As of the 2016 Olympics, qualification is based primarily upon the Official World Golf Ranking (men) and Women's World Golf Rankings, with the top 15 of each gender automatically qualifying, and then the highest ranked players from countries that had not yet already qualified two players.
Golf at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was held in August at the new Olympic Golf Course, built within the Reserva de Marapendi in the Barra da Tijuca zone.
The 2014 Masters Tournament was the 78th edition of the Masters Tournament, the first of golf's four major championships in 2014. It was held April 10–13 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Bubba Watson won his second Masters, three shots ahead of runners-up Jonas Blixt and Jordan Spieth; defending champion Adam Scott tied for fourteenth place.
The 2014 WGC-Cadillac Championship was a golf tournament played March 6–9 on the TPC Blue Monster course at Trump National Doral in Doral, Florida, a suburb west of Miami. It was the 15th WGC-Cadillac Championship tournament, and the second of the World Golf Championships events to be staged in 2014. Patrick Reed won his first WGC event and became the youngest WGC champion at age 23.
The 2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational was a professional golf tournament held July 31 – August 3 on the South Course of Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. It was the 16th WGC-Bridgestone Invitational tournament, and the third of the World Golf Championships events in 2014. Rory McIlroy won the tournament.
The 2015 Masters Tournament was the 79th Masters Tournament, and the first of golf's four major championships, held April 9–12 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Jordan Spieth led wire-to-wire and shot a record-tying 270 (−18) to win his first major at the age of 21, four strokes ahead of runners-up Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose, both major champions.
The 2015 United States Open Championship was the 115th U.S. Open, played June 18–21, 2015 at Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington, southwest of Tacoma on the shore of Puget Sound. Jordan Spieth won his first U.S. Open and consecutive major titles, one stroke ahead of runners-up Dustin Johnson and Louis Oosthuizen. This was the first U.S. Open televised by Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports, launching a 12-year contract with the United States Golf Association.
The 2015 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 144th Open Championship, held from 16 to 20 July at the Old Course at St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. It was the 29th Open Championship played at the course and Zach Johnson won in a four-hole playoff for his second major title.
The 2015 PGA Championship was the 97th PGA Championship, held August 13–16 on the Straits Course of Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. It was the third PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, which previously hosted in 2004 and 2010, as well as the United States Senior Open in 2007, all held on the Straits Course.
The 2015 WGC-Cadillac Match Play was the 17th WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship, played April 29 – May 3 at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, California. It was the second of four World Golf Championships in 2015. Top-ranked Rory McIlroy defeated Gary Woodland 4 & 2 in the final, for his second win in a WGC event, after his win in the 2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
The Netherlands competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Since the nation's official debut in 1900, Dutch athletes had competed at every edition of the Summer Olympic Games in the modern era, with the exception of the sparsely attended 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis and 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, which the Netherlands boycotted because of the Soviet invasion of Hungary.
Ireland competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's twenty-first appearance at the Summer Olympics, having attended every edition, either in its own right or as part of a Great Britain and Ireland team before 1924, with the exception of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Germany.
South Africa competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's seventh consecutive appearance at the Games in the post-apartheid era, and nineteenth overall in Summer Olympic history. The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) sent the nation's largest ever delegation to the Olympics, with a total of 138 athletes, 93 men and 45 women, competing across 15 sports.
The 2016 Masters Tournament was the 80th edition of the Masters Tournament, held April 7–10 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Danny Willett won his first major championship, three strokes ahead of runners-up Lee Westwood and defending champion Jordan Spieth. Spieth suffered one of the biggest collapses in Masters history. Spieth led the tournament from the first round and built a five-shot lead going to the back nine on Sunday, but lost six shots to par over the next three holes culminating in a quadruple-bogey on the 12th hole where he hit two balls into Rae's Creek. Willett shot a bogey-free 67 to overtake Spieth when the leader faltered on the back nine. Willett became the first European to win the Masters since 1999, and the first Englishman to do so since Nick Faldo in 1996.
The 2016 PGA Championship was the 98th PGA Championship which took place from July 28–31 at Baltusrol Golf Club on the Lower Course in Springfield Township, New Jersey, west of New York City. This was the ninth major and second PGA Championship at Baltusrol, which last hosted in 2005. Jimmy Walker won his first major championship title with a score of 14 under par, one shot ahead of 2015 champion Jason Day.
Qualification for tennis at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was not determined by any form of qualifying tournament, but by the rankings maintained by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA).
The women's golf tournament at the 2016 Summer Olympics placed at the Olympic Golf Course, built within the Reserva de Marapendi in the Barra da Tijuca zone, between 17 and 20 August 2016. It was the first women's golf tournament at the Olympics since 1900.
The 2017 Open Championship was a major golf championship and the 146th Open Championship, held 20–23 July at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. It was the tenth Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, which held its first in 1954.
Qualification for Golf at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo was determined not by any form of qualifying tournament, but by the rankings maintained by the International Golf Federation.
