Golf in the Olympics

Golf in the Olympics is a short golf blog post that looks at the history of our beautiful game at the Olympic Games. Why isn’t golf in the Olympic games? It was a question that I used to ask for years to which I never received an answer. I always knew that Running, Jumping, Boxing, Discus, Javelin, Wrestling, Pankration & Equestrian events were involved. But why isn’t golf included? The history of golf at the Olympics. 1900 Olympic Golf Tournament The Olympic Games first recognized the game of golf in 1900. Only 4 nations were represented at this tournament which had a total of 12 competitors who took part. It was won by Charles Sands of the United States due to a 36-hole score of 167. Great Britain finished 2nd & 3rd place. In the same year, a 9-hole Women’s event took place and was won by Margaret Abbott with a score of 47. Abbott, the Golf medal winner, was from the United States, so too were 2nd & 3rd places. 1904 Olympic Golf Tournament The format for this tournament was Matchplay. This time only 2 nations were represented by a total of 75 golfers. The individual prize was won by the Canadian, George Lyon. There was also a team event and that was won by Team USA. Sadly, neither of these events was regarded as being part of the games at that time. 1908 and 1920 Olympic Games Due to boycotts at the 1908 Olympic Golf event and the lack of entries in 1920, these were both cancelled. 2016 Olympic Games. Fast forward to the 2016 games where Justin Rose picked up the Gold Medal. A score of -16 after 4 rounds due to a gritty performance on the course. Henrik Stenson won Silver and Matt Kuchar won the Bronze Medal. The women’s event was won by Inbee Park due to her amazing score of -16. Lydia Ko won Silver and Bronze was won by Shanshan Feng. From this point on, It now looks like golf is here to stay at the Olympic Games. 2020 Olympic Games. The golf event at this games was won by Xander Schauffele because of a cool performance with a score of -18. The Silver Medal was taken by Rory Sabbatini and the Bronze was won by Pan Cheng-tsung. Gold was won in the women’s event by Nelly Korda due to a convincing performance with a score of -17 The Silver was won by Mone Inami and the Bronze was won by Lydia Ko. 2024 Olympic Games. This year’s golf event is taking part in Paris, France, which is where the Ryder Cup took place. At the time of writing this golf blog, the gent’s event has just finished. The Gold was won by Scottie Sheffler due to his course record which led to a score of -19. Tommy Fleetwood took Silver with a great up and down and Bronze was won by Hideki Matsuyama. The women’s event has not yet started and will commence on Wednesday the 7th of August 2024. This is also a 4-day event and is full of promise with Nelly Korda as the favourite. Keep an eye on Emma Spitz of Austria (My insider tip) because of her past performances on the LET. Enjoy watching it till the very last shot and check out the results here. What are your thoughts on Golf in the Olympics? Please leave a comment by filling out a Contact Form. To read more of my golf blog posts, click here.