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Olympics-Golf-Golf's Olympic return seen as a win though top players stay away (Reuters)

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Britain's Justin Rose and South Korea's Inbee Park won the first gold medals in golf in more than 100 years as the sport made a solid return to the Olympics despite the absence of eight of the top 15 players from the men's game.

While the decision of some top golfers to stay away, with some citing concerns over the Zika virus, had stoked controversy ahead of the Games, the drama of the final hole of the men's game, which saw Rose and Sweden's Henrik Stenson battling down to the last putts, may have sealed its future as an Olympic sport.