Full coverage: 2016 Rio Olympics

In Brazil, for the first time in more than 100-years, golf will be on the Olympic programme. One player excited by the prospect of representing China in her beloved sport is Lin Xiyu. The 20-year-old has sacrificed a lot to achieve her dream of being a professional golfer and performing on the Olympic stage will be the biggest test she has faced in her short career. Mike Fox has more.

This youngster has been playing golf for 12 years having first picked up a club at the age of 8. At 14 she was selected to play for China at the Asian games which elevated her to turn professional a year later. Now Lin Xiyu is ready to head to the Olympics.

"When I was a little girl, I didn't think that I could stick to this sport. When I was young the sport interested me so I asked my parents to take me to a course. That's the time I made up my mind to be a golfer," said Lin Xiyu Chinese golfer.

Right now Lin is ranked Number 2 in China and although there may be pressure on her to deliver a medal for her home country she knows the upcoming games will be a learning curve to help her compete at higher levels for the remainder of her career. 

"The Olympics is a dream for all athletes but i'm just happy to be a part of this huge event. I want people to know more about golf and with it being at the Olympics, its can be achieved as it reaches a bigger audience," she said.

With about 4 months to go Lin has to keep up the hard work as she prepares to head to Brazil so it's back to the course in China before jetting off in search of Olympic glory.