Nina Caldwell
Golf has been included in the Olympic Games on five occasions: 1900, 1904, 2016, 2020/2021, and 2024. The sport made its Olympic debut in 1900 at the Summer Olympics in Paris, featuring both men's and women's competitions. Golf also appeared at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, but only men's competitions were held. After a 112-year hiatus, golf was reintroduced at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, with both men's and women's events. The sport continued to be featured in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of times golf has been played at the Olympics | 4 |
| Years golf was played at the Olympics | 1900, 1904, 2016, 2020/2021 |
| Locations of the Olympic golf tournaments | Paris, St. Louis, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo |
| Number of male golfers at the 2024 Olympics | 60 |
| Number of female golfers at the 2024 Olympics | 60 |
| Number of countries that can send golfers to the Olympics | 4 per country |
| Number of holes played in men's golf at the Olympics | 72 |
| Number of holes played in women's golf at the Olympics | 72 |
| Number of days the Olympic golf tournament takes place over | 4 |
| Number of golf tournaments planned but cancelled | 3 |
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What You'll Learn
Golf's Olympic history
Golf has had a sporadic history as an Olympic sport, featuring in the Olympic Games in 1900, 1904, and then not again until 2016.
1900 Olympics
Golf was one of 19 sports and 21 disciplines contested at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. The men's competition was contested by amateur players over 36 holes, with American Charles Sands winning the gold medal by a single stroke over Walter Rutherford of Scotland. The women's competition was a 9-hole competition, won by Chicago's Margaret Abbott, who shot a score of 47. This was the first competition in Olympic history in which women were allowed to compete.
1904 Olympics
The 1904 Olympics in St. Louis featured golf, but only men's competitions: an individual and a team event, both contested at match play. Canada's George Lyon won the individual event, defeating Chandler Egan at the Saint Louis Country Club. The team event was won by the United States.
Post-1904
Golf was due to be included in the 1908 Olympics in London, but a dispute between the Royal and Ancient and the Olympic organizing committee led to a boycott and the tournament's cancellation. The sport was also due to be included in the 1920 Olympics, but this was cancelled due to a lack of entries.
2016 Olympics
After a hiatus of more than a century, golf was reintroduced to the Olympic programme for the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The men's competition was won by Justin Rose of Great Britain, and the women's by Inbee Park of the Republic of Korea.
2020 Olympics
The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, delayed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, featured golf, with Xander Schauffele of the USA winning the men's gold medal and Nelly Korda of the USA winning the women's.
2024 Olympics
Golf will again be included in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, with a maximum of four players per nation competing in each of the men's and women's tournaments.
2028 Olympics
A mixed team event will be added to golf for the 2028 Summer Olympics.
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Men's and women's tournaments
Golf has been part of the Olympic Games on four occasions, with men's and women's tournaments taking place in 1900, 1904, 2016 and 2020. The sport is set to return at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
1900 Olympic Games
The 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris featured a men's golf competition, which was contested by amateur players over 36 holes. The American Charles Sands won the gold medal by a single stroke over Walter Rutherford of Scotland.
The 1900 Games also included a women's tournament, a nine-hole competition won by Margaret Abbott of Chicago, who shot a score of 47. This was the first Olympic competition in which women were allowed to compete. However, Abbott herself was not aware that the tournament was part of the Olympics, and only years after her death did a researcher discover the true nature of her victory.
1904 Olympic Games
The 1904 Olympics in St. Louis featured men's individual and team events, both contested at match play. The individual event was won by George Lyon of Canada, who defeated Chandler Egan. The team event was won by the United States.
2016 Olympic Games
After a 112-year hiatus, golf returned to the Olympic Games in 2016. The men's tournament in Rio de Janeiro was won by Justin Rose, who became the first Olympic golf champion since 1904. The women's tournament took place at the same venue and was won by ...
2020 Olympic Games
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, featured golf tournaments for men and women. The men's tournament was won by Xander Schauffele of the United States, who finished 18-under par. The women's tournament was won by Nelly Korda of the United States.
2024 Olympic Games
The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris will feature men's and women's golf tournaments, with a total of 120 players (60 per gender) competing across two medal events. The men's event will take place from August 1 to 4, while the women's tournament will be held from August 7 to 10.
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1900 Olympics in Paris
Golf was first introduced to the Olympic Games during the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. The sport was featured again during the 1904 Olympics but was then dropped from the programme until 2016.
The 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris were the second modern Olympic Games, following the inaugural event in Athens four years earlier. The Games were held outside of Paris, and the golf tournament took place at the Compiègne Club in Compiègne, about 50 km (30 miles) north of the city. The course had been built in 1896 and was one of just 25 courses in France at the time. It was a nine-hole course, which no longer exists.
The men's tournament was played on 2 October 1900, with competitors playing two 18-hole rounds back-to-back for a total of 36 holes. The following day, the women's tournament was held, with competitors playing just nine holes. The men's competition was for amateur players only, and both tournaments featured stroke play.
American Charles Sands won the gold medal in the men's competition, finishing with a score of 167 over 36 holes, one stroke ahead of Walter Rutherford of Scotland, who took silver. David Robertson, also of Scotland, won the bronze medal. Sands also competed in the singles and doubles tennis competitions at the 1900 Olympics.
The women's tournament was won by Margaret Abbott of the Chicago Golf Club, who shot a score of 47 over nine holes. Abbott became the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal. However, she died in 1955 unaware that the competition she had won was part of the Olympics, and she received a gilded porcelain bowl as a prize instead of a medal. The 1900 Olympic Games was the first time that women were allowed to compete in the Olympics at all, and the women's golf tournament was the first event in which they did so.
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1904 Olympics in St. Louis
The 1904 Summer Olympics, officially known as the "Games of the III Olympiad," were held in St. Louis, Missouri, as part of the St. Louis World's Fair. This was the first time that the Olympic Games had been hosted in the United States and it was a significant event in the history of American sports. The Olympics were spread out over several months, with different events taking place from July 1st to November 23rd, 1904.
The 1904 Olympics were unique in many ways. Due to the long travel times and expenses involved in reaching St. Louis, many international athletes were unable to attend, resulting in a predominantly American competition. Despite this, the Games still featured a diverse range of sports and events, including track and field, swimming, boxing, and gymnastics. One of the most notable aspects of these Games was the introduction of the decathlon, a ten-event competition that would become a staple of Olympic athletics.
Golf made its Olympic debut at the 1904 St. Louis Games, and the competition was held at the Glen Echo Country Club in Normandy, Missouri. The course, designed by a prominent golf architect from Scotland, presented a challenging layout for the competitors. The Olympic golf tournament was a unique event, with a team competition in addition to the individual stroke play. This team event, which was the only time it was featured in Olympic golf, consisted of 32 holes played by a team of 10 amateur golfers, with the winning team determined by the number of holes won.
The individual competition in golf at these Games was a 36-hole stroke-play tournament, with 77 amateur golfers from the United States and Canada teeing off. The winner, George Lyon, a Canadian golfer, finished with a two-day total of 338 strokes, 11 strokes ahead of the second-place finisher, Chandler Egan. Lyon's victory is notable as he was 46 years old at the time, making him the oldest Olympic golf champion in history.
The 1904 Olympics in St. Louis left a lasting impact on the Olympic movement and golf's place within it. Despite the sport's absence from the Games for over a century, its inclusion in 1904 set a precedent and established golf as an Olympic-caliber sport. This historic tournament also highlighted the potential for golf as an international competition, contributing to its global popularity and the eventual reintroduction of golf to the Olympic program in 2016.
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Golf's return to the Olympics
Golf has had a sporadic history in the Olympic Games, featuring in the 1900 and 1904 Summer Olympics, before being dropped from the programme. After a hiatus of over a century, the sport returned at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and has featured at every Games since.
Origins
Golf was first included in the Olympic programme at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. The competition was held at the Compiegne Club, a nine-hole course, which was one of only 25 in France at the time. The men's competition was contested by amateur players over 36 holes, with American Charles Sands winning the gold medal by a single stroke. The women's competition was also held over nine holes, and was won by Margaret Abbott, also from the US. Interestingly, Abbott was unaware during her lifetime that the tournament she had won was part of the Olympics.
1904 Olympics
The 1904 Olympics in St. Louis, USA, were the second and last Games to feature golf before its long hiatus from the programme. The men's competition included an individual and a team event, both contested at match play. The individual event was won by Canadian George Lyon, who defeated Chandler Egan. The team event was won by the US, with squads of ten players each.
Return to the Olympics
Golf returned to the Olympics at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The decision to reinstate the sport was made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2009, largely due to lobbying efforts by former R&A chair Peter Dawson and LPGA Tour commissioner Ty Votaw. The men's competition in 2016 was won by Justin Rose, representing Great Britain, while the Republic of Korea's Inbee Park claimed the women's gold medal.
Recent Olympics
Golf has continued to feature at the Olympic Games since its return in 2016, with competitions held at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), and the 2024 Paris Olympics. The men's gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was won by Xander Schauffele of the USA, while the women's event was won by New Zealand's Lydia Ko. The 2024 Paris Olympics saw Scottie Scheffler of the USA win the men's gold medal, with a women's champion yet to be decided.
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Frequently asked questions
Golf has been included in five Olympic Games: 1900, 1904, 2016, 2020/2021, and 2024.
Yes, golf was initially supposed to be included in the 1908 Olympics in London but was cancelled due to a dispute between the Royal and Ancient and the Olympic organizing committee.
No, golf has only been included in the Summer Olympics.
