With golf returning to the Olympic Games for the first time since 1904, competitors have received another incentive to chase glory in Rio this August. In a show of support for their sport’s return to the Games, golf’s authorities have decided to award the two Olympic gold medallists guaranteed entry to all of the major competitions next year.

The men’s Olympic champion at the Rio 2016 Games will receive an exemption, meaning he will not have to qualify, for the four major golf championships next year: the Masters, US Open, British Open and PGA Championship. The women’s gold medal winner will receive an exemption for the 2016 Evian Championship and the four major tournaments in 2017. Exemptions for the majors are usually only available to previous winners and the current leaders in the world rankings.

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“We believe our game's visibility will be dramatically elevated by the global platform that only the Olympics offer”

Billy Payne, Augusta National chairman

Speaking at the Augusta National Golf Club, home to this week’s Masters competition, the chief executives responsible for the majors said they had come together to support the Olympics.

“New audiences from all over the world, some for the very first time, will be exposed to our great sport (during the Olympic Games) and come to know and appreciate the amazing athletes and heroes in golf,” said Augusta National chairman Billy Payne, who was chief executive officer of the Organising Committee for the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games. “From this greater visibility, we believe will evolve greater participation in our game”

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World no.2 Jordan Spieth gets in some practice ahead of the start of the Masters in Augusta (Photo: Getty Images/Kevin C. Cox )

In Rio de Janeiro, 60 men and 60 women will participate in the two golf competitions. The top-15 world-ranked players will all be eligible to compete, with a limit of four per country. Because there will be strict limits on how many golfers each country can send (two per nation outside the top 15), the Olympic competition will be a great opportunity for a lower-ranked player to break through.

“From our perspective, whether it’s (the Olympic champion) someone that is in the top rankings of the world or someone who is that Cinderella story, in both ways it’s a positive,” said Pete Bevacqua, chief executive officer of the PGA of America. “It's a positive for golf; it's a great story for golf.”

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