WORLD SPORTS SCENE / RANDY HARVEY : Golf-in-Olympics Idea Lands in the Rough

Billy Payne, president of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG), seemed pretty sure of himself two weeks ago, when he announced a proposal that, if approved by the International Olympic Committee, would include golf in the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Apparently, that was no more of an “if” in his mind than a six-inch putt.

Another ACOG official, who did not want to be identified, said that Payne had been led to believe that the IOC would not object to golf if the organizing committee would reconsider its reservations about women’s soccer. No sooner said than done, the official said.

But some IOC members were not aware of a deal, if, indeed, there was one. Among them was Australia’s Kevan Gosper, an influential vice president who sometimes is believed to speak on controversial issues for President Juan Antonio Samaranch.

Whether that was the case last week during an IOC executive board meeting at Acapulco is not known, but Gosper was adamant that golf should not be given favored status over other sports, such as women’s soccer and triathlon, that have attempted to gain admittance to the Games through normal channels.

“I don’t think golf needs the Olympics at this stage, and vice versa,” he said. “In my opinion, the executive board should block it on principle.”

The executive board stopped short of that, but it did declare that golf, like other Olympic wannabes, must appeal to the IOC’s program commission before it can be considered.

The U.S. Figure Skating Assn. moved quickly to take advantage of new eligibility rules, scheduling the sport’s first pro-am competition for Nov. 23-24 at Hershey, Pa.

Actually, the Chrysler Concorde Pro/Am Challenge is a misnomer because none of the competitors is technically an amateur. All are eligible for the $250,000 in prize money--$50,000 for first place, $30,000 for second, $25,000 for third and $20,000 for fourth.

But it will be the first time that skaters who are eligible for the Olympics have been allowed to compete against those who are not. Representing the eligibles are Todd Eldredge and Mark Mitchell in the men’s division and Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding in the women’s. The non-eligibles are Scott Hamilton, Paul Wylie, Rosalynn Sumners and Caryn Kadavy.

Of course, because of the International Skating Union’s new rules, the non-eligibles could become eligibles if they apply for reinstatement before next April.

Hamilton, the 1984 Olympic champion, has expressed interest if he can perfect a triple axel. Meantime, he will have to rely at Hershey on his back flip, which is not legal in amateur competition but will be allowed in the pro-am.

In a recent meeting at Los Angeles, the International Baseball Assn., with the support of the U.S. Baseball Federation, rejected the use of active major leaguers in the Olympics. But the USBF has petitioned the IBA to allow former major leaguers to play in the 1996 Summer Games at Atlanta.

“We don’t want a Dream Team,” said Dick Case, the USBF’s executive director. But he added, “We could have some marquee names.”

For example, Nolan Ryan, George Brett, Ozzie Smith and Dave Winfield probably will have retired before the summer of ’96.

Last week’s victory for Bill Clinton might have ended outgoing U.S. Olympic Committee president Bill Hybl’s chances of gaining admittance to the IOC.

As a former official in the Reagan administration and co-chairman of George Bush’s Colorado campaign in 1988, he has friends in the federal government who could have been valuable to the IOC in the years leading to the Atlanta Games. But, like many Republicans, he figures to have most of his Washington ties untied as of Jan. 20--Inauguration Day.

In other election fallout, a watchdog over the United States’ role in the Olympic movement, Rep. Tom McMillen (D-Md.), lost his bid for reelection.

The U.S. Volleyball Assn. is searching for a home to consolidate its training and administrative headquarters. In recent years, the men’s and women’s national teams have trained at San Diego while offices have been at Colorado Springs, Colo.

The USVBA has received proposals from three dozen cities, including San Diego, Carlsbad, Ventura and Stockton in California. Officials hope to have a short list by the end of the month and would like to be in their new accommodations by 1995.

The British Olympic Assn.’s outgoing chairman, Sir Arthur Gold, warned in his farewell address that the Olympics could be undermined by drugs, greed and politics.

“The ancient Olympics survived for 1,100 years before it was destroyed by money and politics--and they say the one thing that Man learns from history is that he doesn’t learn,” he said.

They’re back. After British authors Andrew Jennings and Vyv Simpson echoed Sir Arthur’s criticisms of the Olympic movement, as well as venting some of their own, in their book “The Lords of the Rings,” the IOC sued for libel in a Swiss court. While awaiting a judgment, the authors are writing a sequel.