Golf in the Summer Olympics might not quite rise to the level of importance of the major championships for either men or women professionals. After all, golf is still a relatively new sport in the Summer Games, and for many professional golfers, it simply adds complications to their schedules.
But for fans of the Olympics, or just fans of some of the top players in the world gathering for competition, Olympic golf is back. The men will play first in the Summer Games in Paris next week, with the women’s event the following week. Fans in Southern California can already look forward to the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, when golf will be played at historic Riviera Country Club.
But since the Olympics aren’t an event on an organized tour, and because the Summer Games come around once every four years, many golf fans might not know what to expect in the next two weeks. So here are a few things you need to know about golf in the Olympics:
The field
Brooke Mackenzie Henderson looks on at the 5th hole during the third round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-USA TODAY Sports
The Olympics have 60 golfers in the field, both for men and women. The players are determined by the Official World Golf Rankings for men and the Rolex World Rankings for women. No country can have more than four golfers in the field in order to make the 60-player field more representative of the world.
So the top four Americans in the rankings when the field was closed – Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and Wyndham Clark – will play for the gold medal. This makes for a field that is not the strongest possible field – for instance U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau and world No. 8 Patrick Cantlay are not in the field – but one that allows the most countries to be represented. American women playing next week will be Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu and Rose Zhang.
Xander Schauffele (USA) celebrates on the podium after winning the gold medal during the final round of the men’s individual stroke play of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Kasumigaseki Country Club.
The competition
A sticking point for some critics is that the format for Olympic golf is straightforward 72 holes of stroke play with no cut.
That tends to make the Olympics look like many other tournaments you might see week to week on any number of tours around the world. The top three players after 72 holes will receive the…
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