When you think of the Olympics, golf does not immediately spring to mind. The Paris Olympics mark just the fifth golf competition ever. With stars like Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, and Nelly Korda set to tee it up, here are five things to know ahead of the Olympics.
The course will look familiar to golf fans
When you lock into the golf on August 1, you might recognize some of the holes. The tournaments will take place at Le Golf National just outside of Paris. The venue hosted the 2018 Ryder Cup, a 17.5-10.5 win in favor of the Europeans. McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm, Alex Noren, and Thornbjørn Oleson were all members of that European team who will be playing in the Olympics.
The Americans have no Olympians who were on the 2018 team. This shapes up well for the Americans this time around, as the team struggled from top to bottom at that Ryder Cup. Scheffler, Schauffele, Wyndham Clark, and Collin Morikawa all come in without the scars from that brutal defeat. Both Morikawa and Schauffele are making their second appearances for Team USA.
The recent revival of Olympic golf
The 2024 event is the fifth time in history that golf will be played at the Olympics. The first two were in 1900 and 1904, followed by a 112-year drought until it came back in 2016. The 1900 Olympics were also held in France at the Compiègne Club. The winner was American Charles Sands who shot 82 in the first round and 85 in the second round for a final score of 167 in the 36-hole event. The women's tournament was just nine holes. Margaret Abbot won with a score of 47.
Golf came back to the Olympics in 2016 at the Rio Games. That event was marred by the Zika virus, which caused many top players to withdraw before the event. The list of golfers who withdrew included six of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Rankings at the time. Justin Rose won the gold medal representing Great Britain, followed by Sweden's Henrik Stenson with the silver, and Matt Kuchar from the US won the Bronze.
There are men's and women's strokeplay events
Golf at the Olympics has two events; A men's strokeplay tournament and a women's strokeplay tournament. Both events will be structured the same as a regular PGA or LPGA Tour event with four 18-hole rounds played over four days. The fields both feature 60 players and no cut after 36 holes. That means that regardless of how they play, all of the star players will be around until the final putt drops.
The women's team for the U.S. has three of the most recognizable stars in the game. Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu, and Rose Zhang will be teeing it up for America. Minjee Lee, Charley Hull, and Lydia Ko are all playing for their respective countries as well. The women's tournament is also at Le Golf National and will kick off on August 7.
Two top players are defending their gold medals
The Americans swept the gold medals at the Tokoyo Games in 2021. Xander Schauffele won the men's side and Nelly Korda won on the women's side. Both players had the best seasons of their careers in 2024 and come in with a great chance to defend their titles. Korda won the Chevron Championship, a major on the women's side, to cap off a stretch of five straight starts with a victory. She won gold in Tokoyo with a score of 17-under.
Until this past May, the gold medal was the crowning achievement of Xander Schauffele's career. Now, he enters the Olympics as a two-time major champion and the number two player in the world. He just defeated many Olympians at the PGA Championship and the Open Championship this year and will pose a significant threat to repeat in the men's competition.
LIV Golfers will be playing
Like everything in professional golf in 2024, LIV Golf is a part of the storyline ahead of the Paris Olympics. There will be LIV players in the field, including Spain's Jon Rahm, Chile's Joaquin Niemann and Mito Pereria, and Mexico's Abraham Ancer.
Many star LIV players, like Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka, will not be participating due to their tour. The qualification system used the Official World Golf Rankings, which does not award LIV points. LIV players from countries with fewer professional golfers, like Chile and Mexico, had a better chance to make it than Americans like Koepka and DeChambeau.
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