For the third straight Summer Olympic Games, the men’s golf competition will take place at Le Golf National near Paris. We will take a look back at the two previous Olympic Men’s Golf tournaments and preview some players to keep an eye on.
In 2016, after a 112-year hiatus from the Olympics, golf made its return. Multiple players withdrew from concerns about the Zika virus that was spreading throughout Brazil. Great Britain’s Justin Rose claimed the gold at 16-under after Rose and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson were tied at 15-under heading into the 72nd hole. Stenson three-putted, and Rose drained a birdie while Matt Kuchar from the United States got the bronze with a final round 63 to clear fourth by four strokes.
In 2021, Austria’s Sepp Straka stormed into the lead with a first-round 63 to take a one-shot lead in Tokyo. Xander Schauffele fired a 63 of his own in the second round to take a one-shot lead over Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz. Schauffele held his one-shot lead after the third round over Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama. The final round was exhilarating, with Schauffele winning the gold with a 67 by one stroke. Claiming the silver was Slovakia’s Rory Sabbatini, who shot a 10-under 61 to storm up the leaderboard and get runner-up by a shot. There was a seven-way tie for the bronze which meant a sudden death playoff was in store. Paul Casey and Hideki Matsuyama were eliminated on the first playoff hole, Rory McIlroy, Sebastian Munoz, and Mito Pereira were all eliminated on the third playoff hole, and on the fourth playoff hole, C.T. Pan from Chinese Taipei outlasted Collin Morikawa to claim the bronze after Pan shot 63 just to get into the playoff. Remarkably, Pan started the event with a 74, which put him T-57 out of 60 players after the first round.
Le Golf National was put on the global stage in 2018 when it hosted the Ryder Cup. Team Europe dominated the event, winning 17.5 to 10.5 over Team USA. The course also hosts the Open de France, which is the oldest national open in continental Europe.
Coming into this year’s games there was controversy with the Dutch Olympic Committee, who essentially told Joost Luiten, who qualified for the Olympics, that he wasn’t good enough and the committee didn’t believe he could finish in the top eight, therefore he wouldn’t be competing for his country. Luiten took the committee to court and won the case, but unfortunately, his spot was already taken by Finland’s Tapio Pulkkanen and the IOC denied the International Golf Federation’s request to expand the 60-player field to 61 to allow Luiten to play. Darius van Driel also qualified for the Dutch but was told the same thing by the Dutch Olympic Committee. Dewi Weber, who is a women’s golfer was also not allowed to compete by the Dutch Olympic Committee but Anne Van Dam was. For what it’s worth, Rory Sabbatini and C.T. Pan were ranked 161st and 181st when they won the silver and bronze medals just three years ago. Luiten is currently ranked 187th in the OWGR and van Driel is 274th.
The four players representing the United States are Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark, and Collin Morikawa. Scheffler and Schauffele won three of the four majors this year with Scheffler winning The Masters, while Schauffele won the PGA Championship, and The Open while being the reigning gold medalist. Clark won the U.S. Open last year in Los Angeles but missed the cut in three of the four majors this year. Collin Morikawa has been very steady this year but since he won the 2021 Open Championship, he’s only won twice, and both times weren’t in the United States.
Players to Watch For:
Xander Schauffele (+550) – I ran through Schauffele’s credentials and there’s an argument to be made for him having the best season despite Scottie Scheffler winning six times on the PGA Tour including his Masters win. Schauffele is on fire and has been magnificent with his approach shots. His putting has also helped him greatly and with how confident he is, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him competing for a medal on Sunday.
Rory McIlroy (+750) – After making that wild seven-man playoff three years ago for the bronze in Tokyo, it’s hard to imagine Rory won’t be in the mix this time in Paris. McIlroy is one of the rare players in the field who played in the 2018 Ryder Cup where he went 2-3-0. McIlroy struggled at The Open where he missed the cut and if his putting had been better, he might’ve won the Scottish Open. His putting has been under fire lately with that being emphasized after missing two crucial putts in the final round of the U.S. Open where he ultimately lost by one shot to Bryson DeChambeau. McIlroy already has a very decorated career and a medal, especially a gold medal would further cement his place in this generation of golf. It could also remind him that he can win on the biggest stages in golf, which would be bad news for the rest of the world.
Collin Morikawa (+1200) – Morikawa has been extremely consistent this year. Starting with The Masters, Morikawa hasn’t finished worse than T-16 in individual events, with six top tens and five top fives. Morikawa is very accurate off the tee and is also accurate with his approach shots. His putting has been very up and down this year, with his putter costing him a real shot at winning the PGA Championship this year, where he lost 0.14 strokes to the field that week. Despite his poor putting that week he finished T-4, but has gained over a stroke on the putting surface in three of the six events after that. Morikawa is a very clutch player as well and that could help him bring home a medal and bring him back into the winner’s circle.
Tommy Fleetwood (+2200) – Tommy Fleetwood is probably the best player in the world who’s never won on the PGA Tour, which is hard to believe with his talent and resume. He’s won seven times on the DP World Tour, has won two Ryder Cups, and has been on the last three Ryder Cups for Europe. Fleetwood had a magical week in Paris in 2018 when he and Francesco Molinari went 4-0-0 as partners. They were an unstoppable force together, and Fleetwood will look for more of that magic this week. Fleetwood has had a solid year so far that’s been highlighted with a win at the Dubai Invitation back in January and a T-3 at The Masters. Oh by the way, Fleetwood won the Open de France, held at Le Golf National in 2017.
Sepp Straka (+5000) – The Austrian has gotten comfortable with being towards the top of the leaderboard in big events. Last year Straka had a T-7 at the PGA Championship, T-2 at The Open, was on Team Europe which won back the Ryder Cup and this year had a good showing at The Masters with a T-16 finish, had back-to-back T-5’s at The Charles Schwab Challenge and The Memorial. Straka had a solid T-22 at The Open a few weeks ago and has been very accurate off the tee which could help Straka claim a medal if his putting holds together.
Matthieu Pavon (+8000) – Pavon is in the middle of a breakout season, which saw him win the Farmers Insurance Open at the always testy Torrey Pines, a T-5 at the Sony Open in Hawai’i, and a solo fifth place at the U.S. Open. The Frenchman has played in the Open de France a handful of times, so he also is familiar with Le Golf National. Pavon has been accurate off the tee, and his putting has been very good in three of his last four starts. If he can continue his precision, improve on his approach shots, and rally behind the support from the French crowds, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Pavon competing for a medal.