Golf News: - Posted 6th February 1998

Seve gets top Olympic honour

Associated Press

Nagano, Japan - Golfer Seve Ballesteros and sportscaster Jim McKay were among two dozen people awarded the Olympic Order, the International Olympic Committee's highest honour.

Ballesteros, a former Masters and British Open champion from Spain and captain of last year's victorious Ryder Cup team, has been involved in efforts to add golf to the Olympic schedule.

McKay, a longtime correspondent and announcer for ABC Sports, was the face and voice of the Olympics for American viewers during the 1970s and '80s, when the network held a majority of the U.S. television rights to the games.

Others picked Friday for the prize included Dr. Charles Dillman, a former director of sports science for the U.S. Olympic Committee, and college professor Howard Knuttgen.

The Olympic order is awarded by the IOC to recognize "those persons who have illustrated the Olympic ideal through their actions, have achieved remarkable merit in the sporting world or have rendered outstanding services to the Olympic cause."