What’s the format for golf at the 2024 Olympics in Paris?
Following a 112-year absence, golf returned to the Olympic fold in 2016 which is to say it’s still relatively ‘new’. Here’s a look at the tournament’s format.
While there are those who have questioned golf’s inclusion at the Olympics, it would be safe to say that now in its third go around, many of those critics have been converted including some of the players themselves. “I made some comments before that were probably uneducated and impulsive,” said Rory McIlroy after narrowly missing out on a bronze medal at the Tokyo Games in 2021. “But coming here experiencing it, seeing, feeling everything that goes on, not just Olympic golf but just the Olympics in general, that sort of Olympic spirit’s definitely bitten me and I’m excited how this week’s turned out and excited for the future.”
So, how does Olympic golf work?
Before we get to the format, let’s deal with some details such as the field. The above-mentioned Rory McIlroy will be playing in a field of 60 golfers from 32 countries taking part in the men’s competition that runs from August 1st - 4th at Le Golf National, the site of the 2018 Ryder Cup. That tournament will be followed by the women’s event, which is set for August 7th - 10th. Again with a field that consists of 60 golfers who will be representing 33 countries.
Now, in terms of who these golfers are, it’s worth noting that unlike most other sports in the Olympics in which you have ‘amateurs’ competing, the field in golf is almost exclusively made up of professionals. To be clear, qualifying for the competition is based on an Olympic Ranking system that mirrors the Official World Golf Ranking for men and the Rolex Women’s Rankings for women. To that end, the tournament will see fourteen of the top 25 men in the Official World Golf Ranking competing, while 19 of the top 25 women in the Rolex Ranking will be in Paris.
This brings us to the format itself. As mentioned before, there are two separate individual events at Le Golf National, one of them is for men and the other one for women. Each tournament is a 72-hole stroke-play tournament, just as you would witness on the PGA Tour and LPGA. Naturally, the player shooting the lowest score wins the gold medal, with second place earning silver and third earning bronze. In the event of ties for any of the places, there will be a playoff with only three total medals being awarded.