The Men's Golf competition was a breakout hit of the 2024 Paris Olympics. You had a Ryder Cup-esque atmosphere at Le Golf National, PGA Tour and LIV Golf stars competing for something much bigger than money, and Scottie Scheffler surging to the gold medal.
The Paris Games marks the third time golf has been featured in an Olympiad since its 112-year absence. Rio was subdued. Tokyo felt like a “ghost town” to Rory McIlroy.
At Le Golf National, stars produced an ideal quality of golf was high and scripted tantalizing storylines. McIlroy even opined Olympic golf could evolve into sport's “best event.”
Jordan Spieth's reaction to Olympics
Like all of us tracking at home, Jordan Spieth — who has represented Team USA in five Ryder Cups, but zero Olympics — was captivated watching Scheffler erase Jon Rahm's four-shot lead on the back-nine.
“I did see the emotion he showed on his putt on 17,” Spieth recalled, ahead of the PGA Tour's Wyndham Championship. “He doesn't normally need to, he's normally walking to victory.”
“That one was pretty cool, how much that meant (to him). I imagine I would have been feeling the exact same way, all of us would have. Are any of us surprised? Maybe not really… If you're going to bet on anybody to be able to do it, he was the safest one to bet on, but that's still something to overcome there.
“That was the excitement of that golf course for the Olympics,” Spieth added. “After playing the Ryder Cup there, seemed like it could yield a really exciting finish and it sure did.”
Olympic golf should only grow in prestige in 2028, when its held stateside at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. The iconic Pacific Palisades course — the annual site of the Genesis Invitational, the PGA Tour signature event hosted by Tiger Woods — is widely beloved for its history, architecture, and locale. A vintage test of imagination over power.
“Not new,” Spieth said about his general interest in the Olympics. “It didn't matter where they were going to announce the golf course. But Riviera is like a top-5 golf course to me, so the idea of playing in the Olympics at Riviera when it was announced, it became from a high goal to a top goal.”
Spieth has two top 10s in 12 career starts at Riviera, in 2015 and 2018. Spieth was sniffing contention after two rounds in February when he was DQ'd over a scorecard error.
Once upon a time, Jordan Spieth stating his intention to make the Olympic cohort would feel like a formality. Now, it'll require some work.
For one thing, the Olympics will likely revise its approach to golf for 2028 (especially with the success of the '24 mens' event; the women tee off Wednesday). Its current iteration takes the form of a traditional (no-cut) PGA Tour or LPGA tournament: 72-hole stroke-play, no team component. The qualification criteria is largely determined by the antiquated Official World Golf Rankings, and nations can't send more than four top-15 players.
Spieth, 31, has struggled to stay relevant on the PGA Tour. His last win came at the 2022 RBC Heritage. This year, Spieth's been hampered by a lingering, unpredictable wrist injury. He's slipped to 39th in the OWGR and 63rd in the FedExCup standings. The three-time major champ hasn't carded a top-20 in four months.
Spieth hopes the prospect of a podium at Riviera will serve as a guiding light. Of course, progress is incremental.
“You've got to be top 6 or 7 in the world, so you've got to play great, consistent golf over an extended period of time,” Spieth said about the Olympics. “So the goal of making that team really, that's great, but what it means is you're winning golf tournaments, you're playing well consistently and that's ultimately the goal is being consistently one of the best players because you put yourself in position.
“That's the fun thing about what we do, is having a chance on Sunday. So I'd like to get back to starting to have a chance on Sundays more and then see where that takes me.”
Training for LA 28 starts now.
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