How Golf Works at the 2024 Summer Olympics
July 19, 2024
Despite the fact that we're entering the third consecutive Olympic Games with golf on the docket, it still feels strange to talk about golf and the Olympics at the same time. A 112 year freeze will do that. But with a host of big-name stars and impressive finishes already on display since golf's return in 2016, it appears the sport is as strong as ever at this global stage.
Important Points
- History: After first appearing in the 1900 and 1904 Olympic Games, golf took a 112-year hiatus before returning in 2016.
- Eligibility: The readiness for the Olympics centers around the Official World Golf Rankings, of the top 15 who do it automatically – with a limit of four from each country – and the top two golfers from each country are chosen after that until the field of 60 is reached.
- Award winners: Since golf returned in 2016, Great Britain's Just Rose and USA's Xander Schauffele won gold medals.
Paris 2024 Schedule
Men's Competition
- Dates: August 1-4
- Location: The National Golf, Saint Quentin en Yvelines
- Team America: Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark, Collin Morikawa
Women's Competition
- Dates: August 7-10
- Location: This Golf National
- Team America: Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu, Rose Zhang
Qualification Standards for Olympic Golf
The Olympic golf ranking is determined by the International Golf Federation, or IGF, which uses the Official World Golf Rankings for men, and the Women's World Golf Rankings for women. The top 15 automatically qualify, but with a limit of 4 per country. After that two top players from countries that do not yet have two qualified players are selected to complete the field of 60. The host country for this group is guaranteed one place. The idea is that many different countries will be represented, even their two most eligible players who may be out of the top 200 in the world.
And so the reason the United States usually sends four players when most other countries only send two, is because they dominate the men's rankings. This time, Scheffler, Schauffele, Clark and Morikawa were placed 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th, respectively, on the deadline in mid-June.
But, because the Official World Golf Rankings are used, that means golfers from LIV Golf often won't have enough points to qualify, despite Byson DeChambeau recently winning the US Open for example. The OWGR features more than 400 tournaments on more than 20 tours, but because LIV is the only tour that plays 54 hole events instead of 72 holes, it cannot be included.
A golf tournament
The Olympic golf program was a little different in its early years, but more on that in a minute. Since its return in 2016, the olympic golf championships have included stroke play golf competitions for men and women, with the lowest score after four rounds winning the gold medal. Sudden death playoffs are used to determine second and third place to award silver and bronze medals.
The similarity of the format of the PGA Tour and other major tours has been seen by some as a missed opportunity for golf, and they have urged the IGF and the IOC – International Olympic Committee – to entertain other options such as a team event, a tournament to play the game. , or a more accessible qualification system to allow room for more golfers – especially skilled beginners – to try to qualify.
Recent Award Winners
To bring golf back to the Summer Olympics in 2016, a new course is being built in Rio de Janeiro for the games. Unfortunately, many of the world's top male golfers such as Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy did not play, citing the Zika virus epidemic. So representing Team USA were Patrick Reed, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson and Matt Kuchar.
Despite the absent faces, the men's event was still dominated by two big winners as Great Britain's Justin Rose claimed the gold medal and Sweden's Henrik Stenson took home the silver. And incredibly, Kuchar shot a final round of 63 — tied for the lowest round of the tournament — to earn the USA the bronze medal.
On the women's side, Inbee Park of South Korea won the gold medal by five shots, while Lydia Ko of New Zealand took silver and Shanshan Feng of China took bronze. American Stacy Lewis finished tied for fourth.
At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, golf took place at the Kasumigaseki Country Club. The US men's team included Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Patrick Reed and Collin Morikawa, with Schauffele winning the gold medal after shooting in the 60s all four rounds. Rory Sabbatini, representing Slovakia, took home the silver medal with a final round of 61, and after a seven-man playoff that included Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama and Morikawa, it was Chinese Taipei's CT Pan who took bronze .
In the women's competition, Team USA's Nelly Korda also stayed in the 60s all four days to take home the gold, while Japan's Mone Inami took silver and New Zealand's Lydia Ko took bronze after a playoff. Ko became the first person to win a medal in golf at consecutive Olympic Games.
History of Golf in the Olympics
Although some have questioned whether golf is part of the Summer Olympics, it is important to note that golf first became an Olympic sport during the second edition of the modern Games in Paris in 1900, and can be considered the first modern sport. That year, the men played a two-round golf tournament and the women played a nine-hole golf tournament.
First Olympic golf:
- 1900 Paris: Men's Gold – Charles Sands (USA), Women's Gold – Margaret Abbott (USA)
- 1904 St. Louis: Men's Gold – George Lyon (CAN), Silver – Chandler Egan (USA)
After failed attempts to host tournaments in 1908 and 1920, the Olympic golf tournament officially fell off the radar until the decision was made to bring it back in 2009. In the limited time golf has been played in the Olympics, the USA leads with 13 total medals, including five gold. They will hope to achieve similar success at Le Golf National in Paris in 2024.
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