Sure, Rio de Janeiro got the 2016 Olympics, and golf got the nod to join the party. Problem is, those two statements don't exactly jive -- there's no championship-caliber golf in Rio. What to do, what to do?

This is the Olympics, so the solution is simple: throw money at the problem until it goes away.

The Rio Olympic organizing committee opened the doors to golf design firms about a month ago, but as Global Golf Post notes, there's already a potential frontrunner -- the Rio de Janeiro International Golf Resort's course being designed by Sir Nick Faldo and Steve Smyers, which just happens to be about 30 miles from the Rio airport. And it'll be ready -- in theory -- in 2012, with plenty of time to break in for the Games.

Ah, but here's the catch. That project has been in the design stages since 2005, and is still stuck in the permitting process. Work won't begin until next spring at the earliest, and that's if everything runs smoothly from here on out. There will be two courses, one a mountainous one set at 2,800 feet above sea level with vistas of 70 miles, and the other in valleys. Beautiful -- but will it be enough to get the gig?

Brazilian officials have already talked to Jack Nicklaus, and of course Tiger Woods' name has come up as well. As Global Golf notes, it's possible that a Woods guarantee to play in the event could be parlayed into the design gig on top of that.

Whoever gets the job can expect their course to be scrutinized more closely than any in decades, and perhaps ever. This is, after all, golf's coming-out party to the world, and we don't want our ladies and gentlemen playing on the equivalent of a glitzy puttin' patch, do we?

(Visor tip to Shackelford.)

Faldo Design Team on Inside Track for Olympic Gold [Global Golf Post]

Related: Nick Faldo, Tiger Woods