Ever since the 2016 Olympics held in Rio, golf featuring in the Olympics has always been a hot topic of conversation.
With the IOC initially criticised for including golf within the Olympic programme, it’s fair to say that heading into 2024 for its third iteration, golf is now beginning to slot seamlessly into the Games and the field gathered for the Paris games is arguably its strongest ever.
Set to be held at the stunning setting of Le Golf National, 60 of the best players in the world will be teeing it up in the hope of bringing glory to both them and their nation.
Ahead of what could be an eventful four rounds, here is our preview of what you can expect over the next few days.
The Course
Some of you will recognise Le Golf National from the 2018 Ryder Cup that was held at the venue.
A brute of a course, water is a common feature with players needing to overcome some form of water barrier on every hole.
The fairways are tight and as it was back in 2018, the rough is long and fairly unforgiving, accuracy off the tee is simply a must.
For this weekend the course will play as a par 71 which measures just under 7,300 yards. The signature holes are both 17 and 18. Surrounded by water, players will need to be accurate to find the heart of the greens with their approaches. If they get it wrong any chances of a medal that they may have in their grasp is likely to be taken away from them.
The Favourites
With such a high quality field gathered for this week, if you are looking to place a bet there are several different ways that you could look to play.
As is his way, Scottie Scheffler will start the week as the favourite for gold. A six time winner on the PGA Tour this season, this will be Scheffler’s first crack around Paris’s premier golf course and he should find the setup very much to his liking.
Le Golf National has taken inspiration from TPC Sawgrass. With its various island greens and tight and winding fairways, nobody has enjoyed as much recent success at Sawgrass as the world number one. The host venue for the Players Championship, earlier this season Scheffler became the first man in history to win back to back titles.
The most accurate player on the PGA Tour when it comes to his overall approach play, Scheffler will be looking to provide himself with an abundance of scoring opportunities. After not being much of a feature at the Open Championship two weeks ago, Scheffler will hope to add to his stunning year with an Olympic gold.
Hoping to build on his great year is Xander Schauffele. Heading into this season widely regarded as the best player in the world not to have won a major, the diminutive Californian has rewrote that script entirely and ended the 2024 major season with both the PGA Championship and Open in his back pocket.
A force of nature everytime he steps out onto the course, Schauffele will be hoping for another tremendous week and it’s hard to look beyond his chances.
Deadly accurate with his irons, if Schauffele can drive the ball as well as we know he can, he is another who should give himself plenty of scoring opportunities over the next four days.
Unlike Scheffler who will be playing in his first Olympics, Schauffele has experience in knowing the pressures of trying to win gold and he will be aiming to become the first golfer to win multiple golfing medals as he aims to defend his title from Tokyo.
No one on the planet is playing golf as strong as Schauffele and another special week could lie ahead.
Rounding out the top three in the betting is Rory McIlroy. It’s been a strange year for the Northern Irishman (who will be representing Ireland here), he has won twice on the PGA Tour but it’s his performances in the majors that will overshadow everything.
Having missed the cut at the Open, it’s his near miss at the U.S Open that is likely to define his season. Now eleven years without a major title, that is simply too long for a player of his abundant talents and he will hope to put a shine on his season with an Olympic Gold medal.
McIlroy is more experienced than most at playing this course and that experience could come in handy. Although he only won two of his five matches at the 2018 Ryder Cup, two of those defeats came on the final hole. Set to be loose this week, a relaxed McIlroy always has to be rated as a major danger.
Who Else Should we be Keeping an Eye on?
If you want to take on the top three in the betting market, there is plenty of value that can be found.
Jon Rahm got his first taste of Ryder Cup action at Le Golf National and since then he has become one of the dominant forces in the game.
A two time major winner, Rahm is playing his best golf of the season and heads into this week fresh off the back of claiming his first ever LIV Golf title and the Spaniard will be eyeing further success.
Rahm’s win at the JCB Golf and Country Club should stand him in good stead here. Laid out in a similar fashion to this week, Rahm’s victory required him to avoid the water and be accurate with his iron play. He was able to emerge victorious last week and it could well happen again over the next few days.
Ludvig Aberg is one of Europe’s greatest hopes. Still competing in his first full season on the PGA Tour, Aberg’s rise to the top of the game has been nothing short of sensational and he has all the tools to succeed around Le Golf National.
Representing Sweden, Aberg has been the poster boy for the Swedish Olympic team and he will hope to reward all those who have helped him reach this stage with the country’s first Olympic gold medal.
If you are looking for a man with fantastic course form then you need to look no further than Tommy Fleetwood.
The Englishman enjoyed a fine 2018 Ryder Cup, winning four points out of five and showing that he has a liking for how the course is set up.
Despite being a multiple winner on the European Tour, an elusive first PGA and major has still escaped him. Fleetwood knows what it takes to win and he will hope to claim one of the sport’s biggest prizes on a course where he has such strong memories.
Jack Hartman
A keen golfer and huge fan of the game, Jack has been covering golf for the last five years. Bringing you all the latest coverage and news from the PGA, LIV, LPGA and DP World Tours, never before has golf been so popular and Jack can’t wait to bring all the excitement to his readers.
