Golf will take place at the Olympics for just the fifth time in history when plays begins on Thursday at Le Golf National, but the sixth staging of the competition could have a very different look in four years’ time in Los Angeles.
Both the men’s and women’s golf competition has used the traditional 72-hole stroke play format for the last two editions and will do again in Paris, with each event including a field of 60 golfers from across the globe.
In the men’s event, Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy will be representing Ireland, while Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa will don the red, white and blue of America.
For the women, we’ll see the likes of Lydia Ko flying the flag for New Zealand and World No.1 Nelly Korda hoping to defend her gold medal for the United States.
In 2028, we could also see the introduction of a mixed golf event at the Olympics, which opens the possibility of the likes of Scheffler and Korda teaming up as well as a Kiwi double of Ryan Fox and Lydia Ko.
It could well be a reality after the International Golf Federation (IGF) submitted a proposal to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) earlier this year include a 36-hole team competition at The Riviera Country Club.
The event would feature 16 teams playing one round of foursomes (alternate shot) and one of four-ball (best ball). The teams would be selected from the 60 men and 60 women already qualified for individual play based on the Olympic Golf Ranking.
The mixed team event would be held on the Sunday and Monday between the men’s and women’s 72-hole individual tournaments. That would necessitate moving the men’s tournament to Wednesday-Saturday, but the women’s schedule would stay the same.
“At the beginning of next year, the IOC should make the decision as to what events will be in the program for L.A.,” said Antony Scanlon, the executive director of the IGF
“And we're hoping that the fact that there's no additional athletes and no additional resources required that the mixed event would be approved by them, especially given the support of the organizing committee.”
The game’s leading players in Paris are also very keen on the idea in a bid to differentiate the competition from a standard PGA or DP World Tour event.
“Yeah, absolutely. I think different -- that was the thing, when golf got back in the Olympics in 2016, I think some people were surprised that it was only individual stroke play, and they didn't try to mix it up with some different formats,” said McIlroy, who is making his second start at the Games this week.
“So you know, if that came to fruition in L.A. where there was a mixed-team event, or even another team event that was not mixed and Shane and I could play in it if we qualify, yeah, I'd love that. I think that would be a great format to bring to this competition.”
Jon Rahm, who will be making his Olympic Games debut after missing Tokyo 2020 through covid, added: “I would also like to see some team aspect in the Olympics, as well, right. I mean, we are here representing Spain.
“So, I would love to actually, as a partner or somehow, whether as a combined sport or us playing together, to be able to represent Spain. That would be extremely nice to share the stage with another player, to do something different, to maybe what we do every other day, right.”
The IOC will continue to look at the submissions from various sports for inclusion in the 2028 Games in the coming months, with the IGF expected to renew conversations with the IOC between now and the end of the year.
