RIO DE JANEIRO -- Adilson da Silva of Brazil hit the first shot that put golf back in the Olympics for the first time in more than a century. Inbee Park hit the final putt that capped off two weeks that could not have gone much better for a sport trying to make a good impression.Peter Dawson was on the first tee when it started and said he had a tear in his eye when it ended.It exceeded my very best expectations, Dawson, president of the International Golf Federation, said Sunday. We had two great competitions that were very exciting, medalists from six different countries. It was marvelous. The way people enjoyed themselves and clearly relished the Olympic experience is heartening.It was a very different week for golf.The sport left Rio in much better shape than when it arrived.The celebration of six medalists dwarfed the absentee list that included the top four men in the world. All but forgotten were the delays in getting Olympic Golf Course built because of various protests and lawsuits, which cost so much time that a test event at the Gil Hanse design could not be played until just five months before the Olympics.It was all a bit of trepidation going into the unknown, said Dawson, former chief executive of the R&A. We know how to put on golf events, despite the fact it was in foreign territory. I think to see how much the players enjoyed it exceeded our expectations. I know Im delighted I didnt miss the experience. Ill never forget it.At an Olympics with half-filled venues, mens golf was a sellout for the final round, when Justin Rose made birdie on the last hole to end a great duel with Henrik Stenson.Crowds were smaller for the women the following week, though it had a distinctive Olympic feel with fans spread out across the course, easy to spot by the color of the shirts for the country they watched.As for television, NBC Sports showed the final 90 minutes of the mens golf and it was the second-highest rated window of the year behind the Masters.Women never had that chance because the starting times were moved up for the final round to avoid storms and finished early. Even so, Golf Channel said womens golf recorded new benchmarks every day. The third round brought the highest numbers for any third round in womens golf during daytime hours since 2011.Not having ever experienced golf in the Olympics, it was difficult to put expectations to it, IGF Vice President Ty Votaw said. But coming through these two weeks, I would say 41 countries participating, six countries earning medals and a country like Russia owning the Olympic scoring record ... our goal of trying to have as many countries participate and be competitive so that the sport could be brought to new fans who might be interested in taking up the game was validated.The scoring record belongs to Maria Verchenova, whose participation was confirmed only the day before the opening ceremony because of Russias doping scandal. She made a hole-in-one on her way to a 62.Its going to push the Russian golf forward and hopefully as much as it can, Verchenova said. Maybe the kids see me on TV, and maybe they say, `Oh, I want to play golf, as well. Hopefully do the best.The next step for golf is staying in the games, and executives left Rio feeling bullish about the International Olympic Committee review next year of all events. Golf already was assured of being in the Tokyo Games in 2020.Rose said if he could make a case for golf staying beyond Tokyo he would say, Were you in Rio?Its more complicated than that, though it will be hard to find flaws. The idea was to put its best foot forward, and golf didnt trip.Were more confident, but not complacent, Dawson said. Weve had some strong words of congratulations from many IOC members. The golf events did particularly well in TV ratings. There are a lot of sports pitching their events. But I think golf made a lot of friends. Cheap Lakers Jerseys Authentic . -- Playing time has been limited for Maxim Tissot this season, so the Montreal Impact defender made the most of his first scoring opportunity on Saturday. Cheap Swingman Lakers Jerseys . John Tavares, Thomas Vanek and Kyle Okposo were also being counted on to slow down sizzling Rangers forward Rick Nash. That plan didnt go so well early. http://www.cheaplakersjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-moritz-wagner-jersey . The veteran safety was a starter for the Bengals from 2008-2012. He totaled 41 tackles and three interceptions while starting all but four of the 13 games he played last season. Cheap NBA Jerseys .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. Cheap JaVale McGee Jersey . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance.Henrik Stenson has labelled 2016 as the best year of his career so far after clinching a second Race to Dubai title in four seasons. Stenson began the week 299,675 points ahead of Danny Willett and made certain of ending the year as European No 1 with a closing 65 matched by defending champion Rory McIlroy.The Swede finished tied-ninth, five stokes adrift of tournament winner Matt Fitzpatrick, to cap a special year and secure his first Race to Dubai title since 2013. Stenson mixed eight birdies with a sole blemish Im very pleased to get my name on this trophy once again, Stenson told Sky Sports. Its been a great year, the best year of my career.Ive always thought it was going to be hard to top 2013, but I think Ive done that this year. Maybe not to the level of golf over six months, but certainly with the highlights of winning The Open, [winning silver at] the Olympics and managing to win The Race to Dubai again. Stenson played alongside McIlroy during the final round I always knew it was going to be a tough race to finish it off here in The Final Series. Luckily for me, I didnt really win it this week here in Dubai or last week in South Africa. Dubai delight for Fitzpatrick Matt Fitzpatrick claims one-shot win at DP World Tour Championship I knew I needed one really good week, and I managed to knock that one out early at HSBC.dddddddddddd Its been more of a cruise and seeing what the other guys do. European Tour Golf November 21, 2016, 4:00pm Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass Willett needed a top-five finish or better to have any chance of ending the year in top spot, but struggled to a tie for 50th and finshed as runner-up in the Race to Dubai for the second year running.Its a disappointing four-week stretch that Ive just had, to end what still will be a pretty memorable year, Willett said. It hasnt been quite good enough for what we needed to do. Willett posted a one-under 70 on Sunday Ill be a bit disappointed I would have thought for a bit, but you then kind of look at what youve done and then try and move forward. I think the body and mind need a bit of a rest, and hopefully we can come out fresh around a golf course that I quite like at Hong Kong and then have a good four or five week break over Christmas. Also See: Fitzpatrick wins Dubai title Final Dubai leaderboard Stenson celebrates R2D crown Golf live on Sky Sports ' ' '