The Elite 8: 2016 Olympic Course Design "Finalists"

The jury panel charged with narrowing the initial bids for the Rio 2016 Olympic golf course design commission whittled the "contest" to eight finalists, and all of the surviving candidates are believed to have been notified of their status.

The finalists will be in Rio de Janeiro in the next two weeks for project briefing workshops, with 3-4 weeks to prepare presentations followed by interviews and a decision expected by mid-to-late January.

Here they are, as confirmed by sources, in alphabetical order:

Tom Doak

Gil Hanse

Martin Hawtree

Robert Trent Jones II

Jack Nicklaus/Annika Sorenstam

Greg Norman/Lorena Ochoa

Gary Player

Peter Thomson/Michael Ross Perrett