Colin Montgomerie, shown teeing off during the Irish Open Golf Tournament on May 14, has been asked to help promote golf for inclusion in the 2016 Olympics. (Peter Morrison/Associated Press)

European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie will push golf's bid for inclusion in the 2016 Olympics.

Montgomerie said Friday he has been asked by Royal and Ancient chief executive Peter Dawson and U.S. PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem to help present golf's case to the International Olympic Committee.

The IOC executive board is meeting June 15-16 in Lausanne, Switzerland, to hear presentations from the seven sports vying for two open spots on the 2016 Olympic program.

Top players like Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els have already endorsed golf's bid.

"Annika Sorenstam is going to speak on behalf of ladies golf and I'm going to speak on behalf of men's golf, along with Peter Dawson and Tim Finchem," Montgomerie said at the Wales Open. "It's a very, very important meeting. Very important for the global game of golf to suddenly have an Olympics."

Golf is competing against baseball, softball, karate, roller sports, rugby sevens and squash. The IOC will make a final decision in Copenhagen in October.

"When I heard of the other candidates, I thought it was my turn to step up and say, 'Hang on a minute, we can vote for golf ahead of, for example, roller sports or softball,"' Montgomerie said. "I always felt golf and tennis were on a par, and when tennis became an Olympic sport it was about time golf followed suit."

One potential difficulty is that 2016 is scheduled to be a Ryder Cup year in the United States.

"Then the next problem, if it does get in, is the scheduling, to find a week during an Olympic time," Montgomerie said. "It's a busy time for us already, around the August/September time, whenever the Olympics might be in 2016."

Golf was last played in the Olympics in St. Louis in 1904.