Golf in the Olympics continues to gain momentum in its third time around after its return to the Games in 2016. Anticipation is running high in 2024 for an event that is gaining in prestige, as none of the top male players passed up on a spot for the Paris Olympics.
Challenges
That wasn’t the case eight years ago when golf joined the Olympic lineup for the first time in more than a century, having previously been part of the Games in only 1900 and 1904. The top four players in the Official World Golf Ranking all elected not to attend in 2016, as did several other prominent names. Most stated the reason as concern about the Zika virus then present in Brazil, but fitting the Olympics into a busy summer schedule and playing an event without a purse no doubt played a role. The Olympics hadn’t been part of the game’s ecosystem, and it took a while for everyone to get onboard on the men’s side.
The prominence of the Olympics arrived more quickly for women, with all of the top players participating from the outset in 2016. Korea’s Inbee Park claimed the gold medal that year and Nelly Korda of the U.S. was the winner in 2021.
Rising Interest
Despite the no-shows, the 2016 men’s event was relatively successful, with Great Britain’s Justin Rose taking the gold medal. The 2020 Tokyo Games (played in 2021 because of COVID-19) gained some momentum, with only Dustin Johnson of the world top 10 turning down a spot. Xander Schauffele of the U.S. earned the gold medal against a reasonably strong field, though there were still nine players ranked in the top 100 who elected not to play.
Top Players and Newcomers
This time not a single member of the world’s top 150 declined a spot, though of course the limitation of two or four players per country means that some top players won’t be in the field. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler of the U.S., in the midst of a standout season with six victories including a Masters title through June, leads the way. No. 2 Rory McIlroy of Ireland, one of the players who turned down a spot in 2016, will be looking for an Olympic medal after missing out on a bronze medal in a playoff in 2021.
Australia’s Jason Day will make his Olympics debut after bypassing the Games in 2016, when he was No. 1 in the world ranking. He failed to make the two-man team in 2021 but was the leading Australian qualifier this year. “You learn from previous mistakes,” said Day. “Looking back on it, I should have gone [in 2016].”
Noticeable Absences
The most prominent player who won’t be present is 2024 U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, ranked 10th in the world at the Olympic qualifying cutoff in June, a world ranking hurt by the fact most of his golf is on the LIV tour that doesn’t receive ranking points. A country is allowed as many as four players if all are in the top 15 of the world ranking. For the U.S., Scheffler, Schauffele, Wyndham Clark, and Collin Morikawa all were ranked in the top seven, leaving Patrick Cantlay (eighth) and DeChambeau out in the cold.
Otherwise, the field is determined by the Official World Golf Ranking, going down the list and taking a maximum of two players from each country until the total number of 60 players is reached. The tightest battle for spots on a national team came from the Canadians, with Corey Conners slipping past Adam Hadwin for the country’s second spot thanks to a top-10 finish at the U.S. Open in the final week of qualifying, ranking 37th in the world to 38th for Hadwin. Nick Taylor was 35th to claim the first spot.
Competition Format
The women’s field of 60 is filled the same way, using the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. Two countries will field three players on the women’s side by virtue of having that many in the world top 15—Korda, Lilia Vu, and Rose Zhang of the U.S. and Jin-Young Ko, Amy Yang, and Hyo-Joo Kim of Korea.
Korda is not only the defending gold medalist, she heads into the Olympics as the world No. 1. Like Scheffler, she had six wins through June, hers coming in consecutive starts to set an LPGA record. Another player to watch is New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, who won a silver medal in 2016 and a bronze in 2021, and will be looking to add a gold to her collection.
The men’s event will be played on Aug. 1-4 and the women’s on Aug. 7-10, both at 72 holes of stroke play. One element unique to the Olympics is that in case of ties, a playoff is required to determine each medal, not just the champion. In Tokyo, there was a seven-way playoff for the men’s bronze, won by C.T. Pan of Chinese Taipei.
The Paris Olympics feature a strong golf venue in Le Golf National, which is owned by the French Golf Federation. The course, designed by Hubert Chesneau and Robert von Hagge, opened in 1991, and is accustomed to hosting big events. The Open de France on the DP World Tour is played there annually, and the course was also the site of the 2018 Ryder Cup. Three players in the Olympics field have won the Open de France at Le Golf National: Great Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood, Sweden’s Alex Noren, and Italy’s Guido Migliozzi.