The Olympics for amateurs only says Faldo

Former major winners Nick Faldo and Tom Watson believe there is a place in the Olympics for golf but it should be restricted to amateur players only.

Faldo, a triple winner of the Open and U.S. Masters, said the professional tour was already so packed that the Olympics would be treated as just another event.

"It's just week after week on our schedule, we do have an awful lot of golf," Faldo told reporters in Melbourne where he is preparing for the Australian Masters.

"I think it would be great if it was part of an amateur schedule, under-25s or something like that, because you are playing for a medal."

Watson, a winner of eight majors between 1975 and 1983, also said he believed Olympic golf should be restricted to amateurs because there were already enough tournaments where professionals represented their country.

"In the Ryder Cup, the World Cup, the Presidents Cup, you're playing for your country," Watson said.

Golf was played at the Olympics in 1900 and 1904 and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is considering reintroducing the sport, possibly in time for the 2012 Games.

However, one of the stumbling blocks for golf is the IOC's insistence that its best players must be available for any new sport to be included on the Olympic program.

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