Golf is being played in the Olympic Games for the third straight time, but Paris 2024 will be the first time this glorious sport of ours will be showcased in all its glory.
The Zika virus affected participation in the sport’s Olympic return after an absence of 112 years back in 2016 when Justin Rose won a thriller in Rio.
And then next up Covid-19 badly limited spectator numbers as Xander Schauffele claimed Olympic gold at the delayed Japan 2020.
This time we’ll have a famous venue with Ryder Cup host Le Golf National and a full crowd to really showcase the very best of what golf has to offer, but there’s just one problem – some of the sport’s biggest names won’t be there.
An argument can also be made about the format as well, but let’s just tackle the final men’s Olympic Golf field here, which was finalised after the US Open at Pinehurst, won so dramatically by Bryson DeChambeau.
As the man of the moment, this year’s best Major performer and arguably the face of men’s pro golf right now Bryson DeChambeau won’t be teeing it up in Paris – and for the good of the game that’s missing a huge opportunity.
Admittedly it’s a tricky one, as a professional sport that doesn’t have the Olympics as the pinnacle of the game and with so many American stars you can’t have them all in – as an Olympic sport it’s got to try and promote it globally.
But there’s a fine line between getting representatives in from as many nations as possible and having the best players in the world involved to help promote the game in what is the biggest sporting shop window there is.
And with so many eyeballs on a sport they wouldn’t usually watch, you need to showcase it at its very best – that’s why Olympic Golf organisers have missed out on a huge opportunity.
Golf missing a trick as big stars miss out
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The numbers look pretty good on paper with the top eight in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) involved in the 60-man Olympic field, the winners of two of the three Majors this year and overall 10 Major champions.
Under qualification criteria, the top 15 in OWGR qualify automatically with a maximum of four from the same country – with only the USA managing this – with other countries having a maximum of two players going down the standings until the field of 60 is full.
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