Golf is in its third Olympic cycle since its reintroduction at Rio 2016, with the world’s best golfers just beginning to recognise a gold medal as being on par with major championship victories. Australia is yet to medal in an Olympic golf competition but with four Aussie players ranked within the top 40, medal chances have never been higher.
Overview
History will be made in Paris with Minjee Lee the first Australian golfer to compete in three Olympic Games. She will be joined by her younger brother Min Woo Lee, the pair becoming the 16th brother-sister combination to represent Australia in the same sport at the same Games. Tied for fifth at Tokyo 2020, Hannah Green returns as the No.7 player in the world while former world No.1 Jason Day joins the Olympic family for the first time.
Ones to Watch
Hannah shapes up as Australia’s strongest medal hope in Paris. She began the final round in Tokyo in position to medal but fell two shots short of a playoff for bronze. The 27-year-old arrives in Paris with two wins on the LPGA Tour this season and at a career-high world ranking. Beware this smiling assassin.
The only LPGA player this season with more wins than Hannah is also the defending Olympic champion. American Nelly Korda has won six times this season – including a record-equalling five straight – and despite a recent form slump remains an overwhelming favourite in the women’s competition. The form suggests a second straight American gold medal sweep in Paris with Scottie Scheffler also boasting six wins this season, including The Masters at Augusta National.
Sport Format
Olympic golf competition will be played across four rounds of stroke play at Le Golf National.
The leading 60 qualifiers from both the men’s and women’s official world rankings who are selected by their country play all four rounds with no cut.
The three best scores at the end of four rounds are awarded Olympic medals with sudden-death playoffs used to determine medals in the case of any ties.
The men’s competition is played from Thursday, 1 August to Sunday, 4 August, followed by the women’s competition from Wednesday, 7 August to Saturday, 10 August.
